Electric Field

We can describe the electric force as the result of an electric field,

F = E q

Consider the force on a small "test charge" in the neighborhood of a positive charge Q.

Move the small "test charge" q around and investigate the force F that it experiences at different places near Q.

We will find an electric field originating on a positive charge.

Likewise, we will find an electric field terminating on a negative charge.

Electric Force: A Numerical Example

E-Field due to a Point Charge

Return to Ch 17, Electrostatics & Electric Energy
(c) Doug Davis, 2002; all rights reserved