Gauss's law Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
In physics, Gauss's law gives the relation between the electric flux flowing out a closed surface and the charge enclosed in the surface. Its integral form is:
Its partial differential form is:
In linear materials, the equation becomes:
In the special case of a spherical surface with a central charge, the electric field is perpendicular to the surface, with the same magnitude at all points of it, giving the simpler expression:
Gauss's law can be used to demonstrate that there is no electric field inside a Faraday cage without electric charges. Gauss's law is the electrostatic equivalent of Ampère's law, which deals with magnetism. Both equations were later integrated into Maxwell's equations.
It was formulated by Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1835, but was not published until 1867. Because of the mathematical similarity, Gauss's Law has application for other physical quantities governed by an inverse-square law such as gravitation or the intensity of radiation. See also divergence theorem.
