Along our studies, two different field forces have been introduced which are the

‘gravitational force’ and ‘electrostatic force’. As point out of earlier, these forces are capable
of acting through space and producing effect even when there is no physical contact between
the objects involved. Field forces can be discussed in many ways and the approach is
developed by Michael Faraday in the year of 1791 – 1867. In this approach, an Electric
Field is said to exist in the region of space around a charge object. When another charged
object enters this electric field exerts a force on the second object. As an example, consider
the diagram below which shows an object with a small positive charge q placed near a second
object with a larger positive charge Q experiences an electric field, E directed as shown.

++++++ q

++++++ +++

++++++

Test charge (bring near)

Hence, we define the electric field at the location of the small “test” charge to be the electric
force acting on it divided by the by the charge q of the charge. The formula is shown below.

, ( where E is electric field, F is force and q is charge)

The electric field is a vector quantity and having unit Newton per coulomb (N/C).Therefore,
the direction of E at a point is defined to be the direction of the electric force that would be
exerted on a small positive test charge placed at that point.
 Once the electric field is known at some point, the force on any particle with charge q
placed at that point can be calculated from a rearrangement of the previous equation.

F = qE

Consider a point charge , q1 located a distance r from a test charge, q2.Accordign to

‘Coulomb’s Law’, the magnitude of the force on the test charge is

F = k !q1! q2! / r2

So that, these are some information about the concept of Electric Field.

Electric field is very important to human beings to run their daily life. Nowadays, the
concept of electric field is applied in many appliances and also in certain systems. This is
because, people really understand the importance of electric force as well as electric field
usage in commercial machines and devices. These are the examples of electric field, just like
Photostat machine, Oscilloscope and Capacitor.

The oscilloscope cathode ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube that creates and deflects
an electron beam to form a graphical image representing the electrical properties of a circuit.
An oscilloscope is used to test electrical devices by displaying a graph of the voltage between
two points in a circuit over time. The CRT displays this graph. Similar CRTs are used in
radar systems, televisions, and computer monitors. A glass tube contains and encloses the
oscilloscope CRT in a vacuum. The base of the tube plugs into the oscilloscope, while the
other end flares to a large flat area that serves as the screen. An electron gun inside produces
an electron beam that passes through two sets of deflection plates before hitting the
fluorescent screen to create an image. This device operates by creating and accelerating a
beam of electrons with an electric field. Another electric field between the deflection plates
directs the beam to the desired location of the display. Finally, the fluorescent screen
converts the energy of the electron beam into slowly emitted visible photons. Four main parts
make up the oscilloscope CRT: bulb, electron gun, deflection plates, and fluorescent screen.
The bulb encloses and holds the components of the CRT in a vacuum. It is a glass tube
shaped roughly like a flashlight. On one end of the tube is the base that plugs into the
oscilloscope and contains the leads that supply current to the components inside. The other
end is bell shaped and serves as the display. The bulb keeps the space around the CRT free of
particles of dust and air and holds down each of the components of the CRT. The deflection
plates are simply pairs of oppositely charged metal plates. There are two sets of deflection
plates which are vertical and horizontal. Each set of plates is parallel and located at the neck
of the tube. The vertical deflection plates lie horizontally but control the vertical position of
the beam. The horizontal plates are positioned at right angles to the vertical plates and
control the horizontal position of the beam. External electric circuits are used to control and
change the amount of charge on these plates and the electric field between them. The
electron beam passes between each pair of plates, and is attracted to the positively charged
side and repelled by the negatively charged side. In this way, the plates control the path of the
electron beam and where the beam hits the screen. The fluorescent screen is the display on
the bulb. The most common material used on the display is phosphorous, and it is painted on
the inside of the bulb. Electrons emerging from the deflection plates strike the screen and the
phosphorous converts the energy in the electron beam into photons of visible light. This
result in a spot of light on the display, with brightness proportional to the intensity of the
beam. The element on the screen is also phosphorescent, meaning that it emits energy as light
gradually instead of instantaneously. This allows us to see lines on the screen instead of a
moving dot. This line is maintained by rapid, repetitive tracing. In an operating cycle, the
heater gives electrons in the cathode enough energy to escape. The electrons are attracted to
the accelerating anode and pulled through a control grid that regulates the number of
electrons in the beam, a focusing anode that controls the width of the beam, and the
accelerating anode itself. The vertical and horizontal deflection plates create electric fields
that bend the beam of electrons. The electrons finally hit the fluorescent screen, which
absorbs the energy from the electron beam and emits it in the form of light to display an
image at the end of the glass tube.

Meanwhile, capacitors also use the electric field in its operation. When a capacitor is
connected across a source of voltage, such as a battery, it is charged by a particular amount,
depending on the voltage and the value of capacitance because of the EMF (electromotive
force) of the battery, negative charges flow to the lower plate, leaving the upper plate
positively charged. Along with the growth of charge, the electric field is also building up. The
flux lines are directed from the positive to the negative charges and at right angles to the
plates. When the capacitor is fully charged, the voltage of the capacitor is equal to the voltage
of the source and opposite in polarity. The charged capacitor stores the energy in the form of
an electric field. It can be said that an electric field indicates voltage.

If the two plates of the capacitor are spread farther apart, the electric field must curve to meet
the plates at right angles. The straight lines in view diagram become arc and approximately
semicircle where the plates are in a straight line. Instead of flat metal plates, as in the
capacitor, the two elements can take the form of metal rods or wires and form the basic
antenna.
 Besides that, Photostat machine is widely used in business, education, and
government. There have been many predictions that photocopiers will eventually become
obsolete as information workers continue to increase their digital document creation and
distribution, and rely less on distributing actual pieces of paper. It’s is operating through
‘Xerography’. The process of xerography is widely used for making photocopies of printed
materials. The basic idea behind the process was developed by Chester Carlson who was
granted a patent for his invention in 1947.Some features of the xerographic process involve
simple concepts from electric fields and optics. Firstly, the surface of a plate or drum is
coated with a thin film of the photo conductive materials which is usually selenium. The
photo conductive surface is given a positive electrostatic charge in the dark. The page or
paper materials copied are then projected on to the charged surface. The photo conducting
surface becomes conducting only in areas where light strikes. There the light produces charge
carrier in the photo conductor which neutralize the positively charged surface. The charges
remain on those areas of the photo conductor not exposed to the light. Then, it leaves a
hidden image of the object in the form of a positive surface charge. Next, a powder called
‘Toner’ is negatively charged and dusted onto the photo conducting surface. The charged
powder adheres only to the areas that contains positively charged image. At this point, the
image becomes visible. It is then transferred to the surface of a sheet of positively charged
paper. Finally, the toner is fixed to the surface of the paper by heat. This results in a
permanent copy of the original. Therefore, ”electric field” is very important to human beings
as well as to operate the devices and machines.
 REFERENCE

1) BOOKS - Physics Fifth edition (ABBOTT)

Physics ( Key Ideas)

2) INTERNET - www.ac.wwu.edu/~vawter/PhysicsNet/Topics/Capacitors
www.tpub.com/neets/book10/39