Gauss' Law With Arbitrary Surface
Instructions
This simulation shows a simplified version of Gauss' law as applied to a square "surface" (more accurately, it's a cylinder with a square cross section). The green vectors show the electric field at several locations along the surface.
Move the surface by dragging. The four charges (really, lines of charge) can also be moved by dragging, and their charge can be adjusted with the sliders. Set a slider to zero to hide the charge.
- Under what circumstances is the net flux zero? Positive? Negative?
- Does the location of the charges that are inside the surface affect the net flux?
- Does the location of the charges that are outside the surface affect the net flux?
- Does the sum of the charge inside the surface affect the net flux?
- Does the sum of the charge outside the surface affect the net flux?