Principle 24.2.1. Determining Electric Potential Difference from Electric Field.
The electric potential difference can be calculated using the equation
\begin{equation*}
\Delta V = - \int_{r_i}^{r_f} \vec{E} \cdot d\vec{r}\text{.}
\end{equation*}
Section 24.2 Finding \(\Delta\)V from E
If you know the electric field of a given charge distribution, you can integrate the electric field along a path to determine the electric potential difference between two points. Notice that the electric potential difference is a scalar quantity.
Exercises Activities
1.
If you know the electric field and you want to determine the electric potential difference, you can use the above equation. There is a negative sign in front of the integral in the above equation. What do you think this negative sign means physically?
