Quote
“Electric potential energy is the energy required to move a charge against an electric field.” (Khan Academy)
Some other definitions:
- The Energy stored in the arrangement of charges particles.
- The negative of the Work done by the conservative force the force of the electric field to arrange the charges.
The formula is similar to Coulomb’s Law, but with
This is also similar to the equation for Gravitational Potential Energy:
We can relate Electric Force to Electric Potential Energy:
Note
Potential Energy is ALWAYS the difference between two configurations. Sometimes you will see it as
or . When it doesn’t have the delta, we are just assuming that one configuration is when objects are separated by infinite distance, and the potential energy is zero in that configuration.
A positive Potential Energy represents charges with a net repulsive force, and a negative potential energy represents charges with a net attractive force.
Electric Potential Energy is measured in