Gauss's law: flux is invariant under deformation
What you are seeing: a point charge inside (or outside) a deformable closed 2D loop. The flux of the electric field through the loop is computed numerically by Simpson quadrature on . For 2D Gauss the result is 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 . Move the charge position out past the ellipse boundary and the flux drops to zero.
shape
ellipse
semi-axis a1.40
semi-axis b1.00
charge cx0.00
flux (V):0
flux / (q/eps_0):0
00WHAT TO TRY
- Vary each control and watch the rail readouts respond.
- Compare the diagnostic plot against the live scene.