Question & Answer » Physics Questions » Why do the Electrostatic Field Lines Not form Closed Loop

Why do the Electrostatic Field Lines Not form Closed Loop

Why do the Electrostatic Field Lines not form Closed Loop?

In order to provide an answer to this issue, we will be utilizing the fundamental theory that is associated with the conservative field. As is well known, an electric field line illustrates the direction in which the force acts on a positive test charge that is relatively modest. The field line does not tend to create a closed loop because the test charge does not have a tendency to return to the location where it began.

A time-varying magnetic field has the potential to generate an electric field within a closed loop. This electric field, in turn, has the potential to generate a magnetic field, and the process continues until electromagnetic waves are generated. On the contrary, electric field lines that are caused by static charges must, by definition, begin at a positive charge and finish at a negative charge or end at infinity, which is the only possible location where a negative charge might exist.

For instance, if we have a positive charge, the electric field lines associated with it will be pointing in the direction illustrated in the image to the right: radially outward.

We have Div. of B equal to zero in Maxwell’s equations because there is no such thing as a magnetic monopole. However, Div. of E does not equal 0 since there are electric monopoles in that region. When a field line is closed, the resulting division value is 0.

Electric field lines originate at the positive charge (or diverge in that direction) and end at the negative charge (or converge in that direction). Because electric field lines always travel from positive to negative, it is impossible for there to be a closed loop in the electric field lines because these lines would have to begin and end on the same charge for the loop to be considered closed.

The fact that there is no electric field line within the charged body is the primary contributor to the fact that the electrostatic field lines do not come together to create a closed loop.

For this reason, we claim that closed loops involving electrostatic field lines never occur.