What is the relationship between electric potential and potential difference?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concepts of electric potential and potential difference, exploring their definitions, relationships, and implications within the context of electric fields. Participants examine both theoretical and conceptual aspects of these terms.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants define electric potential as the work needed to bring a unit positive charge from infinity to a specific point, emphasizing its scalar nature.
  • Others explain that electric potential difference is the difference in electric potentials between two points, interpreted as the work done to move a unit positive charge from one point to another.
  • One participant notes that electric potential does not have an absolute value and is always referenced relative to another point, leading to the concept of potential difference.
  • A further contribution introduces a potential function related to the electric field, suggesting a mathematical relationship between the potential difference and the electric field components.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present various definitions and interpretations of electric potential and potential difference, with no consensus reached on a singular definition or understanding. Multiple competing views remain regarding the nature and implications of these concepts.

Contextual Notes

Some definitions rely on specific reference points, such as defining electric potential as zero at infinity, which may introduce ambiguity. The discussion also touches on mathematical representations that are not fully resolved.

steve oliver
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what is electric potential?and what is the difference between electric potential and potential difference?
 
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Electric potential at a point is defined as the amount of work one has to do to bring a unit positive charge from infinity to that point.
As potential is simply work done, it is a scalar quantity.
So the electric potential difference is simply the difference of potentials of two points.
Alternatively you can say that it is the amount of work done to take a unit positive charge from one point to the other.
 
Electric potential is the amount of work required to move a unit (or an imaginary) charge from a reference point to some other point in an electric field .

Electric potential does not have an absolute value and so whenever we speak of it we speak wrt another point - thus electric potential difference . (Taking some random point to be at zero potential)

Generally we define electric potential as zero at infinity .
 
Since the electric field in stationary situation have some properities you can introduce a function P(x1,x2,x3) called potential function for which:
dP(x1,x2,x3)/dxi=Ei
where Ei is the component of the electric field in the direction of the unit vector xi (x1,x2 or x3)
the potential difference between two points p1 and p2 in the space is:
P(p2)-P(p1)
 

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