Home Physics Electrostatics Potential & Capacitance Electric Flux and Gauss's Law It is not convenient to use a spherical Gaus…
Physics Electrostatics Potential & Capacitance Electric Flux and Gauss's Law Single Correct MCQ
Published on: September 12, 2026

It is not convenient to use a spherical Gaussian surface to find the electric field due to an electric dipole using Gauss’s theorem because

A
Gauss’s law fails in this case
B
This problem does not have spherical symmetry
C
Coulomb’s law is more fundamental than Gauss’s law
D
Spherical Gaussian surface will alter the dipole moment

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Text Solution

Verified by Experts
The correct answer is:
B
Step 1: Understand that Gauss's law states that the electric flux through a closed surface is proportional to the charge enclosed by that surface.
Step 2: Consider the nature of an electric dipole, which consists of two equal and opposite charges separated by a distance.
Step 3: Recognize that the electric field produced by a dipole does not exhibit spherical symmetry; instead, it has a more complex distribution that varies with direction.
Step 4: A spherical Gaussian surface will have uniform charge distribution and will not effectively capture the varying electric field around the dipole.
Therefore, the use of a spherical Gaussian surface is not convenient for finding the electric field due to an electric dipole because this problem does not have spherical symmetry.

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