Is electrostatic potential necessarily zero at a point where electric field strength is zero? Justify.
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1 Answer
Electric potential is a scalar quantity while electric field intensity is a vector quantity. When we add potentials at a point due two or more point charges, the operation is simple scalar addition along with the sign of V, determined by the sign of the q that produces V. At a point, the net field is the vector sum of the fields due to the individual charges. Midway between the two charges of an electric dipole, the potentials due to the two charges are equal in magnitude but opposite in sign, and thus add up to zero. But the electric fields due to the charges are equal in magnitude and direction-towards the negative charge-so that the net field there is not zero. But midway between two like charges of equal magnitudes, the potentials are equal in magnitude and have the same sign, so that the net potential is nonzero. However, the fields due to the two equal like charges are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction, and thus vectorially add up to zero.