Electric Volume Charge Density

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Electric Charge Density

The symbol in Equation [1] is the electric volume charge density:

volume electric charge density
[Equation 1]

The greek symbol pho (electric charge) typically denotes electric charge, and the subscript V indicates it is the volume charge density. Since charge is measured in Coulombs [C], and volume is in meters^3 [m^3], the units of the electric charge density of Equation [1] are [C/m^3]. Note that since electric charge can be negative or positive, the charge density can be negative, positive or zero.

Simple Charge Density Example

Suppose we have +5 [C] of electric charge uniformly (evenly) spread within a sphere of radius 2 meters. What is the electric volume charge density in the sphere?

The solution is simple:

Electric Charge Example
[Equation 2]

The electric charge is known as a source in Maxwell's Equations, as it gives rise to Electric and Magnetic Fields.

Maxwell's Equations

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