MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics

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MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - The Capacitor

supported by the National Science Foundation
educational validator: John Belcher
technical implementer: Andrew McKinney
published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

This Java simulation depicts the interaction of charged particles inside the two plates of a capacitor, a device for storing electric charge. Students may place up to 12 charges in each capacitor plate and set the magnitude of particle charge. The simulation starts with a view of the charges distributing themselves around the outer edge of the plates. The resulting electric field can then be viewed as electric potential lines or in a "grass seeds" field pattern.

For lecture notes that accompany this specific animation, click below:
MIT Open Courseware: Capacitance and Dielectrics Lecture Notes (pdf)

Please note that this resource requires Java Applet Plug-in.

http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostati...

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Electricity & Magnetism - Capacitance = Capacitors - Electric Fields and Potential = Electrostatic Potential and Potential Energy	- High School - Lower Undergraduate	- Instructional Material = Interactive Simulation

Appropriate Courses	Categories	Ratings
- Physics First - Conceptual Physics - Algebra-based Physics - AP Physics	- Activity - New teachers	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Intended Users:: Learner
Educator
Formats:: application/java
text/html
Access Rights:: Free access
License:: This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
Rights Holder:: MIT Open Courseware (OCW): http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/terms/terms/index.htm
Keywords:: Coulomb, Coulomb force, Pauli force, electric field, electric potential, interactive simulations, parallel plate capacitor, point charges, representations, visualization
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created April 14, 2010 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: November 25, 2011 by Caroline Hall
Last Update when Cataloged:: May 2, 2008
Other Collections:: The Physics Source

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This resource is part of a Physics Front Topical Unit.

Topic: "Static" Electricity
Unit Title: Capacitors and their Effect on Electricity

This is one of the best simulations we've seen to illustrate what happens at the particle level inside the two plates of a parallel capacitor. Students can set the number and magnitude of charges within each capacitor, then watch the charges distribute themselves along the outer edges of their enclosures. A great visualization of the Coulomb force in action.

Link to Unit:

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/precollege/items/detail.cfm?ID=9962">National Science Foundation. MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - The Capacitor. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, May 2, 2008.</a>

AIP Format

(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 2004), WWW Document, (http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/capacitor/capacitor.htm).

AJP/PRST-PER

MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - The Capacitor (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 2004), <http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/capacitor/capacitor.htm>.

APA Format

MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - The Capacitor. (2008, May 2). Retrieved December 12, 2024, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology: http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/capacitor/capacitor.htm

Chicago Format

National Science Foundation. MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - The Capacitor. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, May 2, 2008. http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/capacitor/capacitor.htm (accessed 12 December 2024).

MLA Format

MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - The Capacitor. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004. 2 May 2008. National Science Foundation. 12 Dec. 2024 <http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/capacitor/capacitor.htm>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Title = {MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - The Capacitor}, Publisher = {Massachusetts Institute of Technology}, Volume = {2024}, Number = {12 December 2024}, Month = {May 2, 2008}, Year = {2004} }

Refer Export Format

%T MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - The Capacitor %D May 2, 2008 %I Massachusetts Institute of Technology %C Cambridge %U http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/capacitor/capacitor.htm %O application/java

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %D May 2, 2008 %T MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - The Capacitor %I Massachusetts Institute of Technology %V 2024 %N 12 December 2024 %8 May 2, 2008 %9 application/java %U http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/capacitor/capacitor.htm

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The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

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