Electric field

An electric field is a vector field surrounding an electric charge that exerts force on other charges,
attracting or repelling them.[1] [2] Mathematically the electric field is a vector field that associates to each
point in space the force, called the Coulomb force, that would be experienced per unit of charge, by an
infinitesimal test charge at that point.[3][4][5] The units of the electric field in the SI system are newtons
per coulomb (N/C), or volts per meter (V/m). Electric fields are created by electric charges, and by time-
varying magnetic fields. Electric fields are important in many areas of physics, and are exploited
practically in electrical technology. On an atomic scale, the electric field is responsible for the attractive
force between the atomic nucleus and electrons that holds atoms together, and the forces between atoms
that cause chemical bonding. The electric field and the magnetic field together form the electromagnetic
force, one of the four fundamental forces of nature.

Electric field emanating from a point

positive electric charge suspended over
Contents an infinite sheet of conducting material.

Definition of an electric field

Sources of electric field
Causes and description
Continuous vs. discrete charge representation
Superposition principle
Electrostatic fields
Electric potential
Parallels between electrostatic and gravitational fields
Uniform fields
Electrodynamic fields
Energy in the electric field
Further extensions
Definitive equation of vector fields
Constitutive relation
See also
References
External links

Definition of an electric field

From Coulomb's law a particle with electric charge at position exerts a force on a particle with charge at position of

where is the unit vector in the direction from point to point , and ε0 is the electric constant (also known
2
as "the absolute permittivity of free space") in C m N−2 −1

When the charges and have the same sign this force is positive, directed away from the other charge, indicating the particles repel each other. When the
charges have unlike signs the force is negative, indicating the particles attract. To make it easy to calculate the Coulomb force on any charge at position this
ge (the source charge)[4][5]
expression can be divided by , leaving an expression that only depends on the other char

This is the electric field at point due to the point charge ; it is a vector equal to the Coulomb force per unit charge that a positive point charge would
experience at the position . Since this formula gives the electric field magnitude and direction at any point in space (except at the location of the charge
itself, , where it becomes infinite) it defines a vector field. From the above formula it can be seen that the electric field due to a point charge is everywhere
directed away from the charge if it is positive, and toward the charge if it is negative, and its magnitude decreases with the inverse square of the distance from
the charge.
If there are multiple charges, the resultant Coulomb force on a charge can be found by summing the vectors of the forces due to each charge. This shows the
electric field obeys the superposition principle: the total electric field at a point due to a collection of charges is just equal to the vector sum of the electric fields
at that point due to the individual charges.[5][6]

where is the unit vector in the direction from point to point .

This is the definition of the electric field due to the point source charges . It diverges and becomes infinite at the locations of the charges themselves,
and so is not defined there.

The Coulomb force on a charge of magnitude at any point in space is equal to the product of
the charge and the electric field at that point

The units of the electric field in the SI system are newtons per coulomb (N/C), or volts per
meter (V/m); in terms of theSI base units they are kg⋅m⋅s−3⋅A−1

The electric field due to a continuous distribution of charge in space (where is the
charge density in coulombs per cubic meter) can be calculated by considering the charge
in each small volume of space at point as a point charge, and calculating its
electric field at point
Evidence of an electric field:styrofoam peanuts
clinging to a cat's fur due tostatic electricity. The
triboelectric effect causes an electrostatic charge to
build up on the fur due to the cat's motions. The
electric field of the charge causes polarization of the
where is the unit vector pointing from to , then adding up the contributions from all the molecules of the styrofoam due toelectrostatic
induction, resulting in a slight attraction of the light
increments of volume by integrating over the volume of the char
ge distribution
plastic pieces to the charged fur. This effect is also
the cause of static cling in clothes.

Sources of electric field

Causes and description

Electric fields are caused byelectric charges, described by Gauss's law, [7] or varying magnetic fields, described by Faraday's law of induction.[8] Together, these
laws are enough to define the behavior of the electric field as a function of charge repartition and magnetic field. However, since the magnetic field is described
as a function of electric field, the equations of both fields are coupled and together form Maxwell's equations that describe both fields as a function of charges
and currents.

In the special case of asteady state (stationary charges and currents), the Maxwell-Faraday inductive effect disappears. The resulting two equations (Gauss's law
and Faraday's law with no induction term ), taken together, are equivalent to Coulomb's law, written as

for a charge density ( denotes the position in space).[9] Notice that , the permitivity of vacuum, must be

substituted if charges are considered in non-emptymedia.

Continuous vs. discrete charge representation

The equations of electromagnetism are best described in a continuous description. However, charges are sometimes best described as discrete points; for
example, some models may describeelectrons as point sources where charge density is infinite on an infinitesimal section of space.

A charge located at can be described mathematically as a charge density , where the Dirac delta function (in three dimensions) is used.
Conversely, a charge distribution can be approximated by many small point charges.

Superposition principle
Electric fields satisfy the superposition principle, because Maxwell's equations are
linear. As a result, if and are the electric fields resulting from distribution of
charges and , a distribution of charges will create an electric field
; for instance, Coulomb's law is linear in charge density as well.

This principle is useful to calculate the field created by multiple point charges. If
charges are stationary in space at , in the absence of
currents, the superposition principle proves that the resulting field is the sum of
fields generated by each particle as described byCoulomb's law:

The electric field (lines with arrows) of a charge (+) induces

Electrostatic fields surface charges (red and blue areas) on metal objects due to
electrostatic induction.
Electrostatic fields are E-fields which do not change with time, which happens
when charges and currents are stationary. In that case, Coulomb's law fully
describes the field.[10]

Electric potential
If a system is static, such that magnetic fields are not time-varying, then by Faraday's law, the electric field is
curl-free. In this case, one can define anelectric potential, that is, a function such that .[11] This is
analogous to the gravitational potential.

Parallels between electrostatic and gravitational fields Illustration of the electric field
surrounding a positive (red) and a
Coulomb's law, which describes the interaction of electric charges:
negative (blue) charge

is similar to Newton's law of universal gravitation:

(where ).
Play media
Experiment illustrating electric field lines. An
This suggests similarities between the electric fieldE and the gravitational fieldg, or their associated electrode connected to an electrostatic
potentials. Mass is sometimes called "gravitational char
ge" because of that similarity. induction machine is placed in an oil-filled
container. Considering that oil is a dielectric
Electrostatic and gravitational forces both arecentral, conservative and obey an inverse-square law. medium, when there is current through the
electrode, the particles arrange themselves so
as to show the force lines of the electric field.
Uniform fields
A uniform field is one in which the electric field is constant at every point. It can be approximated
by placing two conducting plates parallel to each other and maintaining a voltage (potential difference) between them; it is only an approximation because of
boundary effects (near the edge of the planes, electric field is distorted because the plane does not continue). Assuming infinite planes, the magnitude of the
electric field E is:

where Δϕ is the potential difference between the plates andd is the distance separating the plates. The negative sign arises as positive charges repel, so a positive
charge will experience a force away from the positively charged plate, in the opposite direction to that in which the voltage increases. In micro- and nano-
applications, for instance in relation to semiconductors, a typical magnitude of an electric field is in the order of 106 V⋅m−1, achieved by applying a voltage of
the order of 1 volt between conductors spaced 1 µm apart.

Electrodynamic fields
Electrodynamic fields areE-fields which do change with time, for instance when char
ges are in motion.

The electric field cannot be described independently of the magnetic field in that case. If A is the magnetic vector potential, defined so that , one
can still define an electric potential such that:

One can recover Faraday's law of inductionby taking the curl of that equation

[12]

which justifies, a posteriori, the previous form forE.

Energy in the electric field

The total energy per unit volume stored by theelectromagnetic field is[13]

where ε is the permittivity of the medium in which the field exists, its magnetic permeability, and E and B are the electric and magnetic field vectors.

As E and B fields are coupled, it would be misleading to split this expression into "electric" and "magnetic" contributions. However, in the steady-state case, the
fields are no longer coupled (seeMaxwell's equations). It makes sense in that case to compute the electrostatic ener
gy per unit volume:

The total energy U stored in the electric field in a given volumeV is therefore

Further extensions

Definitive equation of vector fields

ds:[14]
In the presence of matter, it is helpful to extend the notion of the electric field into three vector fiel

where P is the electric polarization – the volume density of electric dipole moments, and D is the electric displacement field. Since E and P are defined
separately, this equation can be used to define D. The physical interpretation of D is not as clear as E (effectively the field applied to the material) or P (induced
field due to the dipoles in the material), but still serves as a convenient mathematical simplification, since Maxwell's equations can be simplified in terms of free
charges and currents.

Constitutive relation
The E and D fields are related by thepermittivity of the material, ε.[15][14]

For linear, homogeneous, isotropic materials E and D are proportional and constant throughout the region, there is no position dependence: For inhomogeneous
materials, there is a position dependence throughout the material:

For anisotropic materials theE and D fields are not parallel, and soE and D are related by the permittivity tensor (a 2nd order tensor field), in component form:

For non-linear media,E and D are not proportional. Materials can have varying extents of linearity
, homogeneity and isotropy.
See also
Classical electromagnetism
Field strength
Signal strength in telecommunications
Magnetism
Teltron tube
Teledeltos, a conductive paper that may be used as a simple analog computer for modelling fields

References
1. Purcell and Morin, Harvard University. (2013). Electricity and Magnetism, 820pages (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press, New Y
ork.
ISBN 978-1-107-01402-2.
2. Browne, p 225: "... around every charge there is an aura that fills all space. This aura is the electric field due to the charge. The electric field is
a vector field... and has a magnitude and direction."
3. Richard Feynman (1970).The Feynman Lectures on Physics Vol II (http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/II_01.html). Addison Wesley
Longman. ISBN 978-0-201-02115-8.
4. Purcell, Edward (2011).Electricity and Magnetism, 2nd Ed(https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3bkNh6h4WEC&pg=P
A15&dq=%22electric
+field%22). Cambridge University Press. pp. 8–9, 15–16.ISBN 1139503553.
5. Serway, Raymond A.; Vuille, Chris (2014). College Physics, 10th Ed(https://books.google.com/books?id=xET
AAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA522&dq=w
ork+energy+capacitor). Cengage Learning. pp. 532–533.ISBN 1305142829.
6. Purcell (2011) Electricity and Magnetism(https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3bkNh6h4WEC&pg=P
A20&dq=%22electric+field%22), 2nd
Ed., p. 20-21
7. Purcell, p 25: "Gauss's Law: the flux of the electric field E through any closed surface...
equals 1/e times the total charge enclosed by the
surface."
8. Purcell, p 356: "Faraday's Law of Induction."
9. Purcell, p7: "... the interaction between electric chargesat rest is described by Coulomb's Law: two stationary electric charges repel or attract
each other with a force proportional to the product of the magnitude of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between them.
10. Purcell, p5-7.
11. gwrowe (8 October 2011)."Curl & Potential in Electrostatics"(http://www.physicspages.com/2011/10/08/curl-potential-in-electrostatics/).
physicspages.com. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
12. Huray, Paul G. (2009). Maxwell's Equations (https://books.google.com/books?id=0QsDgdd0MhMCp)
. Wiley-IEEE. p. 205. ISBN 0-470-54276-
4.
13. Introduction to Electrodynamics (3rd Edition), D.J. Grif
fiths, Pearson Education, Dorling Kindersley
, 2007, ISBN 81-7758-293-3
14. Electromagnetism (2nd Edition), I.S. Grant, W
.R. Phillips, Manchester Physics, John Wiley & Sons, 2008,ISBN 978-0-471-92712-9
15. Electricity and Modern Physics (2nd Edition), G.A.G. Bennet, Edward Arnold (UK), 1974,ISBN 0-7131-2459-8

Purcell, Edward; Morin, David (2010).ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM(3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press, New Y ork. ISBN 978-1-107-
01402-2.
Browne, Michael (2011).PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE(2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill, Schaum, New Y ork. ISBN 978-0-07-
161399-6.

External links
Electric field in "Electricity and Magnetism", R Nave– Hyperphysics, Georgia State University
'Gauss's Law' – Chapter 24 of Frank Wolfs's lectures at University of Rochester
'The Electric Field' – Chapter 23 of Frank Wolfs's lectures at University of Rochester
MovingCharge.html – An applet that shows the electric field of a moving point charge
Fields – a chapter from an online textbook
Learning by SimulationsInteractive simulation of an electric field of up to four point charges
Interactive Flash simulation picturing the electric field of user-defined or preselected sets of point charges
by field vectors, field lines, or
equipotential lines. Author: David Chappell

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