This web page contains a simulation on a particle moving between two plates of a capacitor. Students can set the particle's initial position and velocity, and then view its path. Questions on the page ask the student to determine the relationship between the path the particle takes and the force acting on it from the electric field.
This page is part of a collection of Java applets with tutorial questions developed for introductory physics courses. See Related Materials on this page for a closely related simulation on charge distribution in a capacitor.
<a href="https://www.compadre.org/introphys/items/detail.cfm?ID=7601">Forinash, Kyle. Indiana University Southeast Physics Applets: Electrostatics Simulation I - Moving Particle in a Capacitor. November 13, 2006.</a>
K. Forinash, Indiana University Southeast Physics Applets: Electrostatics Simulation I - Moving Particle in a Capacitor (2001), <https://kforinas.pages.iu.edu/physlets/electrostatics/electroI.html>.
Forinash, K. (2006, November 13). Indiana University Southeast Physics Applets: Electrostatics Simulation I - Moving Particle in a Capacitor. Retrieved January 16, 2025, from https://kforinas.pages.iu.edu/physlets/electrostatics/electroI.html
Forinash, Kyle. Indiana University Southeast Physics Applets: Electrostatics Simulation I - Moving Particle in a Capacitor. November 13, 2006. https://kforinas.pages.iu.edu/physlets/electrostatics/electroI.html (accessed 16 January 2025).
@misc{
Author = "Kyle Forinash",
Title = {Indiana University Southeast Physics Applets: Electrostatics Simulation I - Moving Particle in a Capacitor},
Volume = {2025},
Number = {16 January 2025},
Month = {November 13, 2006},
Year = {2001}
}
%0 Electronic Source %A Forinash, Kyle %D November 13, 2006 %T Indiana University Southeast Physics Applets: Electrostatics Simulation I - Moving Particle in a Capacitor %V 2025 %N 16 January 2025 %8 November 13, 2006 %9 application/java %U https://kforinas.pages.iu.edu/physlets/electrostatics/electroI.html
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In this closely related Java physlet, a test charge is displayed in a simulated parallel plate capacitor. The charge shows a vector with the net force acting on it. Students can move the charge around to view the direction of the force relative to the electric field and the equipotential lines.
This is a link to the author's full index of applets on the topic of electrostatics. Topics include electric fields and forces, field lines, and equipotential lines.
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