ELECTROSTATICS/

MEASURING ELECTRIC
FIELDS
 ELECTRIC FIELD

An electric field is an invisible force field

created by the attraction and repulsion of
electrical charges (the cause of electric
flow), and is measured in Volts per meter
(V/m). The intensity of the electric field
decreases with distance from the field
source.
The formula of the electric field is :

E = F /Q

E is the electric field.

F is the force.
Q is the charge.
 Diagram electric field lines.

Electric field lines are an excellent way of

visualizing electric fields. They were first
introduced by Michael Faraday himself. A
field line is drawn tangential to the net at a
point. Thus at any point, the tangent to the
electric field line matches the direction of the
electric field at that point.
What is the difference between electrostatic field
lines and electric field lines?

In general field produced by electric charge is

called electric field but when electric field is
produced by stationary charge it is called
electrostatic field.
Question 1
Suppose that you are measuring an electric field using a positive test charge of 3.0× C. This
test charge experiences a force of 0.12 N at an angle of 15° north of east. What are the
magnitude and direction of the electric field strength at the location of the test charge?
Known Unknown
𝑞 ′ =3.0 ×10 −6 𝐸=?
𝐹 =0.12 𝑁 𝑎𝑡 15 ° 𝑁 𝑜𝑓 𝐸

𝐹 0.12 𝑁
𝐸= ¿ −6 ¿ 4.0× 104 𝑁 / 𝐶
𝑞′ 3.0 ×10 𝐶

𝐸=4.0 × 104 𝑁 /𝐶 𝑎𝑡 15 ° 𝑁
Question 2
A negative charge of experiences a force of 0.060 N to the right in an
electric field. What are the field's magnitude and direction at that
location?
𝑞′ =−2.0 ×10 −8 𝐶 𝐸=?
𝐹 =0.060 𝑁
𝐹 0.060 𝑁 6
𝐸= ¿ −8 ¿ 3.0 ×10 𝑁/𝐶
𝑞′ −2.0 × 10 𝐶

to the left