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Gauss's law: flux is invariant under deformation

What you are seeing: a point charge qq inside (or outside) a deformable closed 2D loop. The flux of the electric field through the loop is computed numerically by Simpson quadrature on En^ds\oint \mathbf{E} \cdot \hat n \, ds. For 2D Gauss the result is q/ϵ0q / \epsilon_0 whenever the charge sits inside, and zero when it sits outside, no matter how the loop is deformed.

Slide the ellipse semi-axes or switch to the blob shape. The readout reports the computed flux and the ratio to the theoretical value q/ϵ0q / \epsilon_0. Move the charge position out past the ellipse boundary and the flux drops to zero.

Figure 1. Gauss's law in 2D: flux is invariant under deformation when the charge stays inside the closed curve. Method: Simpson quadrature with n=400n = 400.
shape ellipse
semi-axis a1.40
semi-axis b1.00
charge cx0.00

WHAT TO TRY

  • Vary each control and watch the rail readouts respond.
  • Compare the diagnostic plot against the live scene.