Gauss's Law states that the electric flux through any closed surface S is 1/ε0 times the total charge enclosed by the surface S. It is basically a simple application of electric flux. Its SI unit is v m ( volt meters ).
Mathematically, Gauss's law can be written as
Significance of Gauss's Law
- It is true for any closed surface of any shape or size.
- The charge q of Gauss's law includes the sum of all charges enclosed by the surface.
- In some situation, when the surface is so chosen that there are some charges inside and outside the surface then, the electric field is due to all charges, both inside and outside the surface S. However, the charge q of the Gauss's law only represents the total charge inside the surface S.
- The surface that we choose for the application of Gauss's law is known as the Gaussian surface. Here, we can choose any Gaussian surface for the application of Gauss's law. The Gaussian surface can pass through a continuous charge distribution.
- It is especially very useful in calculating the electric field E, when the system has some symmetry.
- Gauss's law is based on the inverse square dependence on distance contained in Coulomb's law. Any violation of this law will indicate a departure from the inverse square law. So, in other words, we can say that Gauss's law is simply based ( or dependent ) on inverse square law.
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