Electric Field Plotting

• Pre-Lab Checklist: To be completed before lab each week.
• Safety Warnings: READ THESE before coming to lab.
• Experiment Notes: Things to keep in mind while performingthe experiment.
• Analysis Notes: Questions to answer in your analysis of theexperiment.
• Grading Breakdown
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Pre-Lab Checklist

1. In your own words, describe the situation to be studied.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. List and define each of the parameters which will be measured directly.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. List and define any quatities which will be calculated.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Describe any graphs, charts, or diagrams which will be created during your analysis of this experiment.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

SAFETY WARNING

In order to avoid an electric shock, do not touch the water when the source probes are in the tank and the power is on. Also avovid touching both source probes at the same time.

Experiment Notes:

1. You will need one sheet of graph paper for each of the seven electrodeconfigurations. BRING GRAPH PAPER WITH YOU TO LAB. You may also findit useful to bring several different colors of pencils, pens, or highlightersto clearly distinguish the different equipotential and field lines in yourdiagrams.

2. You will be directly measuring points on the equipotential surfaces. Theexperiment requires you to also determine the distribution of the electricfield lines using your plots of the equipotentials.

3. When you are on an equipotential line, the stationary probe and the moveableprobe from the oscilloscope are at the same potential. Therefore, the locationof the stationary probe is a point on that line. After you position thestationary probe, move the other probe back and forth throughout the tank tofind all the other points in the tank which are at that same potential. Markthose points on your graph paper.

4. Each time you move thestationary probe, you are moving to a new equipotential line. When plottingyour points on the graph paper, use a different color or a different symbol todifferentiate points on different equipotential lines. You should have atleast five different equipotential lines for each of the seven electrodeconfigurations.

5. In the last configuration, Parallel plates with conductor, use thering as the central conductor rather than a conducting disk. In thisconfiguration, the electrodes should be placed on the two bars representing theparallel plates.

   
   
   

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   Analysis Notes:

   1. For each of the electrode configurations, comment on the observed pattern andanswer the following questions. Be sure to justify your answers.

      • Is the field uniform throughout the tank?
      • If it is not uniform, where is the electric field the strongest?
      • If it is not uniform, where is the electric field the weakest?
      • Are there any regions in the tank where the electric field is zero?

   2. Using your equipotential diagrams, state your conclusions about thegeneral behavior of electric fields around charged conductors. This statementis the result of your experiment.

   
   

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   Grading Breakdown:

   Section	Points
   Purpose	1
   Results	2
   Diagrams	3
   Analysis	14

   
   
   

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