Electric Potential: 0 Between 2 Point Charges of +q?

In summary, electric potential is the amount of work required to move a unit charge between two points in an electric field. A potential of 0 between two point charges of +q indicates that there is no potential difference and no work is required to move a charge between them. Electric potential is calculated by dividing the work done on a charge by the magnitude of the charge. It can be negative, indicating that work is needed to move a charge from a lower to a higher potential. The distance between two point charges is inversely proportional to the electric potential, meaning that as the distance increases, the electric potential decreases.
  • #1
daveed
138
0
if you had two point charges of charge +q each, where would the electric potential vanishes, other than at infinite?

the thing i am reading says "nowhere", though i am wondering, why can there not be 0 electric potential exactly halfway between the charges?
 
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  • #2
Don't believe everything that you read,
Regards,
Reilly Atkinson
 
  • #3
Nowhere. The potential is not the field, so midway between the charges the potential is not zero but its derivative and therefore the electric field, is zero. The potential is a measure of how much energy you need, to get from infinity to that point.
 

What is electric potential?

Electric potential is the amount of work required to move a unit charge from one point to another in an electric field.

What does it mean to have an electric potential of 0 between two point charges of +q?

This means that there is no potential difference between the two charges. They are at the same electric potential and therefore no work is required to move a charge between them.

How is electric potential calculated?

Electric potential is calculated by dividing the work done on a charge by the magnitude of the charge. Mathematically, it is represented as V = W/q, where V is the electric potential, W is the work done, and q is the charge.

Can the electric potential between two point charges be negative?

Yes, the electric potential can be negative. This indicates that work would need to be done to move a charge from a lower potential to a higher potential.

How does the distance between two point charges affect the electric potential?

The electric potential is inversely proportional to the distance between two point charges. This means that as the distance increases, the electric potential decreases.

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