What is meant by electric dipole moment? Write its expression.

The electric dipole moment is a measure of the separation of positive and negative electrical charges within a system, that creates a dipole. The term is used in the field of electromagnetism. It is a vector quantity that has both magnitude and direction. The direction of the electric dipole moment points from the negative charge towards the positive charge.

The expression for the electric dipole moment (p) is given by:

p = q * d

where:

• q is the magnitude of the separated charge,
• d is the displacement vector from the negative charge to the positive charge.