Finding out if work is done with between two points with same electric potential

[ehsan23]

if two points have the same electric potential, is it true that no work is required to move a test charge from one point to the other? Does that mean that no force is required, as well?

 

[gneill]

if two points have the same electric potential, is it true that no work is required to move a test charge from one point to the other? Does that mean that no force is required, as well?

What do you think? Can you imagine scenarios that support or contradict your propositions?

 

[ehsan23]

i don't think it is true because you would need a force to move your charge

 

[gneill]

Suppose you could make the mass of a charged particle as small as you like, and that you are allowed to move it as slowly as you wish, so the only significant forces you have to deal with are electrical forces.

 

[asteriatic]

I can confirm that if two points have the same electric potential, no work is required to move a test charge from one point to the other. This is because work is defined as the product of force and displacement, and in this case, the displacement is zero since the points have the same potential. Therefore, no force is required to move the charge between the two points.

However, it is important to note that the absence of work and force does not necessarily mean that there is no electric field present between the two points. The electric potential is a measure of the potential energy per unit charge at a given point, and it does not take into account the direction or magnitude of the electric field.

In some cases, the electric field may still be present between the two points and exert a force on a charged particle, but the potential difference between the points may be zero. This is known as a equipotential surface, where all points on the surface have the same potential.

In conclusion, if two points have the same electric potential, no work is required to move a test charge between them and no force is required to maintain the charge at a certain point. However, the presence of an electric field and the potential difference between two points are two distinct concepts that should not be confused with each other.