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The electric field

The area around the electric charge in which the electric force or stress would be exerted on other charged particles or objects is called the electric field. In brief, the electric field is discussed below.

Meaning of electric field

The area around the electric charge in which the electric force or stress would be exerted on other charged particles or objects is known as the electric field. It depends on the magnitude. If the magnitude of the charge is high, then it will create a huge amount of stress on the region. E represents the electric field. The SI unit of the electric field is the newton per coulomb which is equal to volts per metre.

About electric charge

An electric charge can be both positive and negative. It depends on the situation and also, it’s a matter due to which two objects either resist each other or attract each other. If the two objects are charged oppositely, they will attract each other and if the objects have the same charges, they will resist each other.

The electric charge has coulombs as a unit that shows the electricity amount that is carried by the electric current of 1 ampere in 1 second.

Atoms are made up of 3 particles: neutrons, protons and electrons. Protons are the positive charge particles and electrons are the negative charge particles, whereas neutrons are neither positive charge nor negative charge. The objects which have no charge or zero charges are considered neutral.

Different types of electric field

There are two main types of electric fields:

    1.Uniform electric field

A uniform electric field means when the electric field is constant at each point. When we put the two conductors parallel to each other, this type of constant electric field is achieved. The potential difference between them also remains the same.

    2. Non-uniform electric field

A non-uniform electric field is when the field is not constant and is irregular at every point. In a non-uniform field, the magnitude and the directions are always different.

Properties of electric field

Some of the important properties of the electric field are:

  •   The lines of the field never interact with each other.
  •   The field lines are always perpendicular to the surface.
  •   When the lines are apart from each other, the field is considered to be weak and when the lines of the field are close to each other, the field is considered to be very strong.
  •   The magnitude of the charge is directly proportionate to the total number of field lines.
  •   The line of the electric field always starts from the positive charge and ends at the negative charge. In the case of a single charge, it automatically starts and ends at infinity.

When the two fields of electric field and magnetic field unite, the electromagnetic field is formed.

What is Coulomb’s Law?

This law is the experimental law that usually measures the actual force among any two still charges. According to the coulomb’s law, unlike charges attracts each other and like charges resist each other with the force which is directly in relation to the products obtained from the charges and indirectly proportional to the square of the distance among them.

The formula of coulomb’s law

For finding out the magnitude of the electrostatic force between the different charges, we use the formula of Coulomb’s law. The electrostatic force is denoted by Newton(N).

Electrostatic force = (Coulomb constant) absolute value of (charge 1) (charge 2)/ (distance between charges)²

F = k|q1q2|/r²

F =  the electrostatic force which is between the two points of different (N= kg.m/s²)

K = It denotes the Coulomb constant k

q1 = charge of the first point charge(C)

q2 = charge of the second point charge(C)

r = refers to the distance between the charges (m)

Conclusion

The area around the electric charge in which the electric force or stress would be exerted on other charged particles or objects is known as the electric field. It depends on the magnitude. If the magnitude of the charge is high, then it will create a huge amount of stress on the region. E represents the electric field. The SI unit of the electric field is the newton per coulomb which is equal to volts per metre.

An electric charge can be both positive and negative. It depends on the situation, and also, it’s a matter in which two objects either resist each other or attract each other. If the two objects are charged oppositely, they will attract each other and if the objects have the same charges, they will resist each other.

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