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Glite Dictionary
🔄 Same value everywhere 📏 Area of equal potential
equipotential

equipotential

9.1
Having the same potential at every point in an electric or gravitational field
  • adjective
  • /ˌiːkwɪˈpəʊtənʃəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : equipotencial
  • EQUIPOTENTIAL CURVES, SHAPES OF POTENTIAL BARRIERS, AND EMISSION CURRENT

Examples

  • In the first approximation, we can assume that one electron does not change the potential and moves along a certain equipotential curve.

    Academic text (2018)

  • So the equipotential functions would be circles.

  • When one is "all dressed up with nowhere to go," the surface really is flat and equipotential.

    Academic text (2006)

  • This doesn't mean it's equipotential—that's the structure of "nothing to do"—but differences between any two attractions may not be great.

    Academic text (2006)

  • On the diagram, the blue areas represent the equipotential surfaces where the potential is the same.

  • In physics class, we learned that equipotential lines show points in an electric field with equal potential energy.

  • The concept of equipotential regions is crucial for understanding electric fields and how they affect charges.

How Uniform

equipotential
  • Specialized
9.1
constant
360 2.7
uniform
92 3.7
uneven
42 2.3
variable
  • Specialized
140 4.2

Surface Forms

equipotential positive

Morphology

equipotential = potential (semi-transparent) = equi + potential

The term literally means 'equal potential' (equi- + potential), but 'equi-' is a bound combining form and the word is technical, so learners may find it only partially transparent.

Etymology

Equipotential joins the parts equi- meaning 'equal' and potential meaning 'power' or 'ability'. So, to be equipotential is to have the same 'power' (for example the same electric voltage) at every point, which explains why no work is needed to move a charge along it.