Electrostatic Fields

The field concept is fundamental to describe and understand the electrostatic phenomenon and its interaction with surrounding objects. Understanding the concepts and laws related to the electrostatic field is necessary before introducing the more advanced topics in electromagnetics. On the other hand, there is a wide range of applications in industry, medicine, and electronic devices that are based on electrostatics. This makes the subject of electrostatics an important topic as a prerequisite for other subjects or as a basic technology in many industrial applications. This chapter introduces the principles of electrostatic fields. The main topics that are covered in the chapter include Coulomb’s law and electrostatic force between the objects, the concept of electric field intensity, Gauss’s law and its applications, the concept of electric potential, the electrostatic energy and the energy stored in the electrostatic field, and the electric dipole. All topics of the chapter are supported by illustrative examples and figures that make the topics understandable easily. To enhance the student's problem solving skills, the chapter is provided by miscellaneous solved problems and numerous homework problems covering the topics of the chapter.