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Area vector with examples & flux vector equation

Let's explore how and why we treat area as a vector. The direction of area vector is always perpendicular to it. For open surfaces, we have to arbitrarily choose between two perpendiculars, but for closed surfaces, we choose the outward direction as our standard. This helps us define the flux to be the dot product of electric field and the area. Created by Mahesh Shenoy.

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  • blobby green style avatar for user Stuart Richards
    This is more feedback than a question. I have really been enjoying this module as I work through it however there are sections where the content is not adequate to answer the quiz section as there are no equivalent worked examples to explain the reasoning. The perfect example of this is when you come across the flux of electric field quiz. With no worked examples using vector notation as is required in the quiz this may cause some difficulties for some students.
    (3 votes)
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  • aqualine ultimate style avatar for user Maisha Ahmed Mithi
    If the area was tilted in a different direction, would the formula be same
    (1 vote)
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    • aqualine ultimate style avatar for user SULAGNA NANDI
      Sorry for the late response, but for anyone else wondering:

      I think θ is supposed to be the absolute value of the angle between how the window typically is (perpendicular to the flow) and the tilted window.

      For example, at , if the bottom edge of the window tilted to the left instead of to the right but tilted the same amount, I think we'd plug in the same θ.
      (1 vote)

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