Electric Dipole Moment - Elementary Definition

Elementary Definition

In the simple case of two point charges, one with charge +q and one with charge −q, the electric dipole moment p is:

 \mathbf{p} = q\mathbf{d}

where d is the displacement vector pointing from the negative charge to the positive charge. Thus, the electric dipole moment vector p points from the negative charge to the positive charge. An idealization of this two-charge system is the electrical point dipole consisting of two (infinite) charges only infinitesimally separated, but with a finite p.

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