What is the relationship between electric potential and potential difference?

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SUMMARY

The relationship between electric potential and potential difference is clearly defined in the context of electric fields. Electric potential at a point quantifies the work required to move a unit positive charge from infinity to that point, while potential difference measures the work done to move the charge between two points. Electric potential is a scalar quantity and does not possess an absolute value; it is always referenced to another point, typically defined as zero at infinity. The potential difference can be mathematically expressed as the difference in potential functions between two points, P(p2) - P(p1).

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  • Understanding of electric fields and forces
  • Familiarity with scalar quantities in physics
  • Knowledge of work-energy principles in electrostatics
  • Basic calculus for potential function derivation
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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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