Electric Flux
The Main Idea
Electric flux through an area is the electric field multiplied by the area of a plane that is perpendicular to the field. Gauss's Law relates the electric flux through an area to the amount of charge enclosed in that area. Gauss's law can be applied to any closed surface and calculates the amount of charge enclosed based on the electric field at that closed surface.
A Mathematical Model
[math]\displaystyle{ \text{Electric Flux:} Φelectric ={ Q \over ε_0} }[/math]
[math]\displaystyle{ \text {Electric Flux:} Φelectric= \int \ {\vec{E}cosθdA} }[/math]
Where theta is the angle between the electric field vector and the surface normal.
Combining these two equations gives:
[math]\displaystyle{ \text{Gauss's Law for Electric Fields:} \oint{ \vec{E} \cdot d\vec{A} } ⃗= {Q\over ε_0} }[/math]
A Computational Model
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Examples
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Connectedness
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History
Carl Gauss discovered this relation in 1835 and the equation was published in 1867. It is considered to be one of the four equations that are the basis for electrodynamics.
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Further reading Books, Articles or other print media on this topic
External links Internet resources on this topic