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Gauss' Law definitions Flashcards

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Gauss' Law definitions
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  • Gauss's Law
    Relates electric flux through a closed surface to the charge enclosed within that surface.
  • Electric Flux
    The measure of the electric field passing through a given surface.
  • Closed Surface
    A surface that completely encloses a volume with no openings.
  • Charge
    A property of matter that causes it to experience a force in an electric field.
  • Epsilon Not
    The permittivity of free space, a constant approximately equal to 8.85 x 10^-12 F/m.
  • Net Flux
    The total electric flux through a closed surface.
  • Gaussian Surface
    An imaginary surface used to apply Gauss's Law, chosen for symmetry.
  • Symmetry
    A property that simplifies calculations by ensuring uniformity in a system.
  • Point Charge
    An idealized model of a charged particle with negligible size.
  • Electric Field
    A field around a charged particle where a force would be exerted on other charges.
  • Sphere
    A symmetrical 3D shape used as a Gaussian surface for point charges.
  • Coulomb
    The SI unit of electric charge, symbolized as C.
  • Normal Vector
    A vector perpendicular to a surface, used in flux calculations.
  • Area Vector
    A vector representing the magnitude and direction of a surface area.
  • Cosine Theta
    A trigonometric function used to calculate the component of a vector.