Electric Fields

Source: Yong P. Chen, PhD, Department of Physics & Astronomy, College of Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

An electric field is generated by a charged object (referred to as the source charge) in the space around it, and represents the ability to exert electric force on another charge...

The electric field is fundamental to understanding electricity and charge-charge interactions and is closely related to important quantities such as electrical potential.

Any charged object generates an electric field. The magnitude of the field is dependent on the quantity of charge on the object, and the distance from the object where th...