Thursday, 31 May 2018

electrostatics - Electric Flux - What is the point?


Electric flux is a defined quantity that is proportional to the no. of field lines passing through a given area element for a given electric field. It is not proportional to the relative density of field lines, which would supply information regarding the strength of the field at that point. Electric flux, it seems to me, does not supply us with any practical information. It seems to me that electric flux is a quantity defined and modeled specifically for Gauss' law, to introduce some kind of mathematical elegance to it and to introduce an additional visual aspect to the concept of electric fields. Perhaps this is why for symmetrical situations especially, Gauss' Law can be used to easily determine the electric field due to the given charge distribution. Am I wrong here? Is there a physical significance to electric flux that I do not understand? Thanks for your answers.




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