Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 7, 2026

The Preparation of Electrohydrodynamic Bridges from Polar Dielectric Liquids
10:03

The Preparation of Electrohydrodynamic Bridges from Polar Dielectric Liquids

Published on: September 30, 2014

Effect of an electrostatic field on the optical properties of a cloud of dielectric particles

E Fucile, F Borghese, P Denti

    Applied Optics
    |November 6, 2010
    PubMed

    More Related Videos

    Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters10:37

    Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters

    Published on: January 9, 2014

    Optical Trap Loading of Dielectric Microparticles In Air08:57

    Optical Trap Loading of Dielectric Microparticles In Air

    Published on: February 5, 2017

    Related Concept Videos

    Dielectric Polarization in a Capacitor01:31

    Dielectric Polarization in a Capacitor

    The presence of a dielectric medium in a capacitor not only changes the voltage and capacitance but also affects the electric field. In general, dielectrics can be of two types: polar and nonpolar. In a polar dielectric, the positive and negative charges in the molecules are separated by a distance and hence have a permanent dipole moment. In contrast, no such charge separation exists in a nonpolar dielectric, however the nonpolar molecules get polarized in the presence of an external electric...
    Potential Due to a Polarized Object01:29

    Potential Due to a Polarized Object

    A neutral atom consists of a positively charged nucleus surrounded by a negatively charged electron cloud. When placed in an external electric field, the external electric force pulls the electrons and nucleus apart, opposite to the intrinsic attraction between the nucleus and the electrons. The opposing forces balance each other with a slight shift between the center of masses of the nucleus and the electron cloud, resulting in a polarized atom. On the other hand, a few molecules, like water,...
    Electrostatic Boundary Conditions in Dielectrics01:27

    Electrostatic Boundary Conditions in Dielectrics

    When an electric field passes from one homogeneous medium to another, crossing the boundary between the two mediums imparts a discontinuity in the electric field. This results in electrostatic boundary conditions that depend on the type of mediums the field propagates through.
    Consider a case where both the mediums across a boundary are two different dielectric materials. Recall that the electric field and electric displacement are proportional and related through the material's permittivity.
    Electric Field of a Charged Disk01:23

    Electric Field of a Charged Disk

    The simplest case of a surface charge distribution is the uniformly charged disk. Calculating its electric field also helps us calculate the electric field of a large plane of charge.
    The system's symmetry is in the cylindrical directions across the plane of the charge. As a result, the electric fields created by various surface charge elements nullify each other in the direction parallel to the surface. Thereby, the resulting electric field is perpendicular to the plane. Since the disk is...
    Electric Field of Two Equal and Opposite Charges01:30

    Electric Field of Two Equal and Opposite Charges

    Atoms generally contain the same number of positively and negatively charged particles, protons, and electrons. Hence, they are electrically neutral. However, the centers of the positive and negative charges do not always coincide. In such a scenario, the electric field of an atom may not be zero.
    A separation of the positive and negative charges can lead to a weak, remnant effect of the positive and negative charges. The expectation is that the more the distance between the positive and...
    Gauss's Law in Dielectrics01:17

    Gauss's Law in Dielectrics

    Consider a polar dielectric placed in an external field. In such a dielectric, opposite charges on adjacent dipoles neutralize each other, such that the net charge within the dielectric is zero. When a polar dielectric is inserted in between the capacitor plates, an electric field is generated due to the presence of net charges near the edge of the dielectric and the metal plates interface. Since the external electrical field merely aligns the dipoles, the dielectric as a whole is neutral. An...