Electric potential question

curiousjoe94

Say you have two point charges, both are positive. Would I be correct in thinking that electric potential (V) would be highest at some point along the line between those two point charges, and then decrease as we get closer to each of the charges?

algebrat

Potential blows up near charges (upside-down funnels glued together). There is a saddle point on the line segment between the charges (where the glue is), perhaps that was the point you were thinking of. If we are constrained to the line segment connecting the two charges, then there is a minimum in between, and it increases as you move closer to either of the charges.

vela

No. Look at the formula for the potential due to a point charge. What happens to the potential as the distance from the charge approaches 0?

curiousjoe94

I get it now. You say theres a minimum between the two charges, would it correct to assume this would never be zero?

algebrat

Yes, since both contributions to the potential are positive, kq/|r|+kq/|r|