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

equipotential

9.6
A line or surface where every point has the same potential in an electric field
  • noun
  • /ˌiːkwɪˈpəʊtənʃəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : superficie equipotencial
  • Engineers use equipotential surfaces to analyze electric fields in their designs.

Examples

  • This is the trick by which you can solve a variety of problems by finding equipotentials of nice shapes.

  • What is the equipotential curve for this potential?

  • So where what are the equipotential curves for that guy?

  • The concept of equipotential lines is crucial when studying gravitational fields.

  • To ensure safety, the technician checked the equipotential areas around the electrical installation.

Surface Forms

equipotential singular
equipotentials plural

Morphology

equipotential = potential (transparent) = equi + potential

The meaning is directly compositional: 'equi-' means equal and 'potential' supplies the field quantity, yielding 'equal potential'.

Etymology

Equipotential joins the parts equi- meaning 'equal' and potential meaning 'power' or 'ability', like in 'potential energy' in physics. So, an equipotential is a line or surface where every point has the same 'power' (for example the same voltage), which is why a charge does not gain or lose energy when it moves along it.