Electric Fields

Electric Field Lines

A field line or a streamline indicates the direction of force on a test charge introduced into the field.

Streamlines show only the direction of the vector field. They are tangential to the vector field.

Electric Field Lines for Two source Charges

Negative Source

Positive Source

Electric Field Lines - Pattern of several lines that extend between the source charge and infinity. Pattern can include infinite no. of lines.

Rules for Drawing Electric Field Patterns

RULE 1 : Density of lines in patterns

Density of electric lines reveal that QC>QB>QA

Objects with greater charge create stronger electric fields.

Density of lines in patterns

Field Lines are closer to each to each other.

Field Lines are farther from each other.

E is greatest at locations closure to the surface of charge.

RULE 2 : Draw the lines of force perpendicular

to the surfaces of objects.
There is never a component of electric force which is directed parallel to the surface.
The electric force, and thus the electric field, is always directed perpendicular to the surface of an object . Lines of force that leave the surface of an object, may alter its direction. Eg., for configurations of two or more charges.

RULE 3 : Electric field lines should never cross.

Electric Field Lines for Configurations of Two or More Charges

KQ/R2 has to be performed twice at each location.

 Can be added in head-to-tail fashion to determine the resultant or net electric field vector at each location. The magnitude and direction of the electric field at each location is simply the vector sum of the electric field vectors for each individual charge.

Electric Field Lines for Configurations of Two or More Charges

The individual source charges in the configuration possess the same amount of charge. The pattern is symmetrical in nature & the number of lines emanating from a source charge or extending towards a source charge are the same. This reinforces that the density of lines surrounding any given source charge is proportional to the quantity of charge on that source charge.

Electric Field Line Patterns for Objects with Unequal Charges

Summary
Electric field lines always extend from a positively charged object to a negatively charged object, from a positively charged object to infinity, or from infinity to a negatively charged object.

Electric field lines never cross each other.

Electric field lines are most dense around objects with the greatest amount of charge. At locations where electric field lines meet the surface of an object, the lines are perpendicular to the surface.

STREAMLINES
In case of 2D fields, let Ez = 0, streamlines are in zconstant plane.