Electric Field Around Negative Charge

Begingroup if i think of an electric field or any field as pointing in the direction of decreasing potential energy then if we bring a positive test charge near a source charge which is positive as well then in bringing them closer the potential energy will increase and the electric field points towards decreasing potential energy.

Electric field around negative charge. To help visualize how a charge or a collection of charges influences the region around it the concept of an electric field is used. The pattern of lines sometimes referred to as electric field lines point in the direction that a positive test charge would. In other words the electric field created by a negative charge at some point in space around it is gonna point toward that negative charge creating that electric field. An electric field is a region of space around an electrically charged particle or object in which an electric charge would feel force.

The electric field e is analogous to g which we called the acceleration due to gravity but which is really the gravitational field. An electric field like other fields e g gravitational or magnetic is a vector field that surrounds an object. Because the electric field from a negative charge points radially inward toward that negative charge. Thus the electric field direction about a positive source charge is always directed away from the positive source.

Electric field is a vector quantity whose direction is defined as the direction that a positive test charge would be pushed when placed in the field. The direction of the field is taken to be the direction of the force it would exert on a positive test charge. An electric charge is a property of matter that causes two objects to attract or repel depending on their charges positive or negative. Electric fields are found around electric charges and help determine the direction and magnitude of force the charge exerts on a nearby charged particle.

And the electric field direction about a negative source charge is always. Having both magnitude and direction it follows that an electric field is a vector field. Note that the electric field is defined for a positive test charge q so that the field lines point away from a positive charge and toward a negative charge see figure 2 the electric field strength is exactly proportional to the number of field lines per unit area since the magnitude of the electric field for a point charge is latex e k frac q r 2 latex and area is proportional to. Click on any of the examples above for more.

It measures units of force exerted per unit of charge and its si units are n c. 469 70 as the electric field is defined in terms of force and force is a vector i e. The electric field is radially outward from a positive charge and radially in toward a negative point charge. Electric field is defined as the electric force per unit charge.

A useful means of visually representing the vector nature of an electric field is through the use of electric field lines of force.