Gaussian Surface and its Properties
Gaussian Surface and its Properties:
The Gaussian surface is a hypothetical or imaginary closed three-dimensional surface. This surface is used to calculate the electric flux through a vector field (i.e. gravitational field, electric field, or magnetic field).
Examples:
Gaussian surfaces are surfaces of spheres, cylinders, cubes, etc. There are some surfaces which cannot be used as Gaussian surfaces like the surface of disc, square etc.
Essential properties of Gaussian surface are :
1. The Gaussian surface must be closed surface to clearly define the regions, inside, on, and outside the surface.
2. A Gaussian surface is constructed to pass through the point at which the electric field is being calculated.
3. The shape of the Gaussian surface depends upon the shape or symmetry of the charge distribution (i.e. the source).
4. For systems with discrete charges, the surface should not intersect any point charge, as the electric field is undefined at the location of a point charge. However, the surface can intersect continuous charge distributions
5. The electric flux through the surface depends solely on the total charge enclosed within it, not on the external charges.
6. The electric field at any point on the Gaussian surface is influenced by both internal and external charges.
7.If the electric flux is zero through the surface, it does not necessarily mean the electric field is zero. However, if the electric field is zero at every point on the surface then the electric flux will be definitely zero.
8. If a closed surface encloses no net charge, the total electric flux through it will be zero—regardless of whether the external electric field is uniform or varying.
