Electric Charge and Electric Field

Part 1: Electric Charge and Electric Field

This part introduces the fundamental concepts of electricity by exploring the behavior of electric charge at rest, a field known as electrostatics. You will learn how electric charges interact through electric forces and electric fields, how these interactions are described quantitatively by Coulomb’s law, and how conductors and insulators respond to electric charge. These principles explain phenomena ranging from static electricity to the behavior of atoms, biological molecules, and many medical technologies.

The concepts developed in this part provide the foundation for the remainder of the book, where you will study electric potential, electric current, circuits, magnetism, and electromagnetic waves.

This part contains the following chapters:

1. Introduction to Electric Charge and Electric Field
2. Static Electricity and Charge: Conservation of Charge
3. Conductors and Insulators
4. Coulomb’s Law
5. Electric Field: Concept of a Field Revisited
6. Electric Field Lines: Multiple Charges
7. Electric Forces in Biology
8. Conductors and Electric Fields in Static Equilibrium
9. Applications of Electrostatics