Sample 1Medium
A figure shows an electric dipole: charge −q at the left and +q at the right, a short distance apart, with field lines curving from +q round to −q. Point P lies on the perpendicular bisector of the line joining the charges. Which way does the electric field at P point?
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The answer is D.
On the equatorial line the components along the bisector cancel. The remaining components add parallel to the axis, from +q towards −q, which is opposite to p (p points from −q to +q).
- A.
The components along the bisector from the two charges cancel.
- B.
Parallel to p is the direction of the field on the axial line, not the equatorial line.
- C.
The bisector components cancel, so there is no net field along the bisector.
NCERT: Class 12 Physics, Chapter 1