What is an electric field due to a point charge?
1 Answer
An electric field due to a point charge is a vector field that describes the influence a charged particle has on the surrounding space. The electric field is a fundamental concept in electromagnetism and is a key factor in understanding how electric charges interact with each other.
For a point charge
Q located at a specific position in space, the electric field (
E) at any point in the surrounding space is given by Coulomb's law:
=
⋅
2
⋅
^
E=
r
2
k⋅Q
⋅
r
^
Where:
E is the electric field vector at a given point.
k is Coulomb's constant (
≈
8.988
×
1
0
9
N m
2
/
C
2
k≈8.988×10
9
N m
2
/C
2
), a constant of proportionality.
Q is the magnitude of the point charge.
r is the distance between the point charge and the point where the electric field is being measured.
^
r
^
is the unit vector pointing from the point charge to the observation point.
Key points about the electric field due to a point charge:
The electric field points radially outward from a positive point charge and radially inward toward a negative point charge.
The electric field strength decreases with the square of the distance from the charge (
1
/
2
1/r
2
dependence).
The electric field is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude and direction.
The electric field exerts a force on other charges placed in its vicinity, according to the equation
=
⋅
F=q⋅E, where
F is the force experienced by a charge
q placed in the electric field
E.
In summary, the electric field due to a point charge provides a mathematical description of how electric charges create an influence in the space around them, affecting other charges and objects within that space.
For a point charge
Q located at a specific position in space, the electric field (
E) at any point in the surrounding space is given by Coulomb's law:
=
⋅
2
⋅
^
E=
r
2
k⋅Q
⋅
r
^
Where:
E is the electric field vector at a given point.
k is Coulomb's constant (
≈
8.988
×
1
0
9
N m
2
/
C
2
k≈8.988×10
9
N m
2
/C
2
), a constant of proportionality.
Q is the magnitude of the point charge.
r is the distance between the point charge and the point where the electric field is being measured.
^
r
^
is the unit vector pointing from the point charge to the observation point.
Key points about the electric field due to a point charge:
The electric field points radially outward from a positive point charge and radially inward toward a negative point charge.
The electric field strength decreases with the square of the distance from the charge (
1
/
2
1/r
2
dependence).
The electric field is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude and direction.
The electric field exerts a force on other charges placed in its vicinity, according to the equation
=
⋅
F=q⋅E, where
F is the force experienced by a charge
q placed in the electric field
E.
In summary, the electric field due to a point charge provides a mathematical description of how electric charges create an influence in the space around them, affecting other charges and objects within that space.