- #1
paul11273
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Can anyone help me to understand why equipotential surfaces must always be perpendicular to the electric field lines that pass through them?
My textbook gives what seems to be a simple mathematical explanation, but the logic is escaping me.
It states that dV= -E.ds = 0, (where the "." appears to be dot product of the two vectors -E and ds and so E must be perpendicular to the displacement of the equipotential surface.
I can understand that the dot product=0 means two vectors are perpendicular. I am looking for a more intuitive explanation to really understand what is going on.
My textbook gives what seems to be a simple mathematical explanation, but the logic is escaping me.
It states that dV= -E.ds = 0, (where the "." appears to be dot product of the two vectors -E and ds and so E must be perpendicular to the displacement of the equipotential surface.
I can understand that the dot product=0 means two vectors are perpendicular. I am looking for a more intuitive explanation to really understand what is going on.