Whats the principle of superposition

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The principle of superposition states that the net electric field at a point due to multiple charges is the vector sum of the individual fields from each charge. It applies to linear systems, meaning if a function is linear, the sum of the outputs for individual inputs equals the output for the sum of those inputs. This principle is crucial in electromagnetism and quantum mechanics, where the electric field behaves linearly with respect to charge distributions. Understanding this allows for the calculation of the electric field for combined charge distributions based on known fields from individual charges. The superposition principle is foundational in analyzing complex systems in physics.
spock9000
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Hello

I would appreciate if someone can refresh my mind with the principle of superposition..
 
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lol yeah wikipedia was my first website but i didnt understood that explanations i already found an easy explanations.. thanks anyway..

Superposition Principle

The Superposition Principle states that net electric field produced at any point by a system of charges is equal to the vector sum of all individual fields, produced by each charge at this point

http://physics-help.info/physicsguide/electricity/electric_field.shtml
 
The superposition principle is a property of a linear system/function/algebra. If the function f is linear, then if
A=f(a)
B=f(b)
then
A+B=f(a+b)
This is the superposition principle and it works for any sort of linear or approximately linear problem. Electromagnetism and quantum mechanics are linear. More specifically, the electric field is a linear function of the charge distribution.
\textbf{E}(\vec{x})=f(\rho(\vec{x}))
So, if you know the electric field for two charge distributions, you can easily figure out the electric field for the combined charge distribution.
 

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