Note 31 — ON THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF ELECTROSTATICS.[26]

As this definition in its simple form is apt to give rise to misunderstandings, elucidations are usually added to it. It is clear that we cannot lift a quantity of electricity to K, without changing the distribution on K and the potential on K. Hence, the charges on K must be conceived as fixed, and so small a quantity raised that no appreciable change is produced by it. Taking the work thus expended as many times as the small quantity in question is contained in the unit of quantity, we shall obtain the potential. The potential of a body K may be briefly and precisely defined as follows: If we expend the element of work dW to raise the element of positive quantity dQ from the earth to the conductor, the potential of a conductor K will be given by V = dW/dQ.