Obtain the expression for the electric field due to an electric dipole at a point on its axial line.

Vedclass pdf generator app on play store
Vedclass iOS app on app store
(N/A) Consider an electric dipole consisting of charges $+q$ and $-q$ separated by a distance $2a$. Let $P$ be a point on the axial line at a distance $r$ from the center $O$ of the dipole.
The electric field at point $P$ due to the charge $+q$ is:
$\overrightarrow{E}_{+q} = \frac{1}{4 \pi \varepsilon_{0}} \frac{q}{(r-a)^{2}} \hat{p}$
The electric field at point $P$ due to the charge $-q$ is:
$\overrightarrow{E}_{-q} = -\frac{1}{4 \pi \varepsilon_{0}} \frac{q}{(r+a)^{2}} \hat{p}$
The total electric field at point $P$ is the vector sum of these fields:
$\overrightarrow{E} = \overrightarrow{E}_{+q} + \overrightarrow{E}_{-q} = \frac{q}{4 \pi \varepsilon_{0}} \left[ \frac{1}{(r-a)^{2}} - \frac{1}{(r+a)^{2}} \right] \hat{p}$
Simplifying the expression:
$\overrightarrow{E} = \frac{q}{4 \pi \varepsilon_{0}} \left[ \frac{(r+a)^{2} - (r-a)^{2}}{(r^{2}-a^{2})^{2}} \right] \hat{p} = \frac{q}{4 \pi \varepsilon_{0}} \left[ \frac{4ar}{(r^{2}-a^{2})^{2}} \right] \hat{p}$
Since the dipole moment $p = q(2a)$,we can write:
$\overrightarrow{E} = \frac{1}{4 \pi \varepsilon_{0}} \frac{2pr}{(r^{2}-a^{2})^{2}} \hat{p}$
For a short dipole where $r >> a$,we have $r^{2}-a^{2} \approx r^{2}$:
$\overrightarrow{E} \approx \frac{1}{4 \pi \varepsilon_{0}} \frac{2pr}{r^{4}} \hat{p} = \frac{2p}{4 \pi \varepsilon_{0} r^{3}} \hat{p}$

Explore More

Similar Questions

The electric field due to a short electric dipole at a large distance $(r)$ from the center of the dipole on the equatorial plane varies with distance as:

An electric dipole is placed at the origin in the direction of the $x$-axis. $A$ point $P$ is at a distance of $20 \, cm$ from the origin $O$ such that $OP$ makes an angle of $\pi/3$ with the $x$-axis. If the electric field at point $P$ makes an angle $\theta$ with the $x$-axis,then the value of $\theta$ is:

Difficult
View Solution

An electric dipole is placed at an angle of $30^\circ$ with an electric field intensity of $2 \times 10^5 \, \text{NC}^{-1}$. It experiences a torque equal to $4 \, \text{Nm}$. The charge on the dipole,if the dipole length is $2 \, \text{cm}$,is:

What is an electric dipole? What is an electric dipole moment?

$A$ point electric dipole placed at the origin has a potential given by $V(r, \theta) = \frac{p \cos \theta}{4 \pi \varepsilon_0 r^2}$,where $\theta$ is the angle made by the position vector with the direction of the dipole. Then,

Vedclass Products

For Students

Vedclass Test Series

Mock tests in real JEE/NEET style with performance analysis. 5-day free trial.

Start Free Trial
For Teachers

Exam Paper Generator

Generate Set A/B/C/D exam papers from 7.5L+ questions in 2 minutes. 3 chapters free.

Try Free
For Institutes

Online Exam Module

Live online exams with unlimited students, 360° analytics & white-label branding.

See Demo