Dipole in a Field

Force and Torque

When electric dipole is placed in a uniform external electric field, net force is but torque is .

Enable JavaScript

Motion of dipole

When electric dipole is placed in a uniform external electric field, electric dipole experiences motion. But the field is non-uniform, there is  motion in addition to motion

Enable JavaScript

Dipole alignment with field

Question 1

When dipole is aligned parallel to the electric field, torque is zero and the the dipole is in stale equilibrium

Question 2

When dipole is aligned anti-parallel to the electric field, torque is zero and the dipole is in not equilibrium

Question 3

When dipole is placed perpendicular to the electric field, the torque is maximum

Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License 4.0