Superposition principle

This topic covers the Superposition Principle

The Main Idea

The net electric field due to two or more charges is the vector sum of each field due to each individual charge. This not only applies to Electric Fields, but Magnetic Fields as well. It is important to note that in the superposition principle, the electric field caused by a charge is not affected by the presence of other charges.

[math]\displaystyle{ F(x_1+x_2)=F(x_1)+F(x_2) \, }[/math]

[math]\displaystyle{ F(a x)=a F(x) \, }[/math] 

A Computational Model

How do we visualize or predict using this topic. Consider embedding some vpython code here Teach hands-on with GlowScript

Examples

Simple

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  This picture shows the electric field at the location of q3. Note that the Electric Fields of both q1 and q2 were both calculated individually (but do not react because of one another) and summed up to get the net electric field

Connectedness

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History

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See also

• Coulomb's Law
• Electric Field
• Electric Dipole

Further reading

Books, Articles or other print media on this topic

External links

Instructional video on how to calculate the net electric field using the superposition principle

References

Chabay, Ruth W.; Sherwood, Bruce A. (2014-12-23). Matter and Interactions, 4th Edition: 1-2 (Page 522). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Fields