Question

The unit of electric dipole moment is:
A.) Newton
B.) Coulomb
C.) Farad
D.) Debye

Answer 1

Hint: Electric dipole moment for an electric dipole can be defined as the product of magnitude of either of the charges and the distance by which they are separated from each other. They are attracted to each other by electrostatic force of attraction.

Detailed step by step solution:
An electric dipole is defined as a pair of two equal but oppositely charged charges separated by a certain distance from each other.

Electric dipole moment is defined as the product of the magnitude of one of the charges with the distance by which they are separated from each other.

The mathematical expression for electric dipole moment is given as

$\overrightarrow p = q\overrightarrow d $

where p is defined as the dipole moment of the electric dipole, q is the electric charge on one of the charges and d signifies the distance by which the dipole charges are separated from each other.

The electric dipole moment is actually a vector quantity. The direction of this vector quantity is from the negative charge to the positive charge of the dipole.

The SI unit of electric dipole moment is coulomb-meter (Cm) while the C.G.S unit of electric dipole moment is debye.

Hence, the correct answer is option D.

Note: The electric dipole moment gives the estimation of the strength of a dipole. The direction of the electric field is anti-parallel to the dipole moment of an electric dipole. When an electric dipole is placed at an angle to an external electric field, it experiences a torque. This torque is maximum when dipole is at right angles to the external electric field.