Electrostatics

All matter possess a fundamental property known as charge. We will explore the nature of charges, the forces they exert on each other, and the fields they create, all in the context of static situations:

• We will begin with a discussion of how charge works, as well as the basic principles of electrostatics (and its position in modern physics).
• We will then move on to Coulomb's law, which describes the force between two charges. Using this law, along with the superposition principle, we can calculate the force between any number of charges.
• By now, electrostatics is, in principle, complete. Every problem can be solved using Coulomb's law and the superposition principle. However, this is not always the most efficient way to solve problems. Hence, we will introduce the concept of the electric field, and along with it, Gauss's law.
• Gauss's law is a powerful tool that allows us to calculate electric fields in situations with high symmetry.