Why is it necessary that the field lines from a point charge placed in the vicinity of a conductor must be normal to the conductor at every point?

The surface of a conductor is an equipotential surface. Thus, field lines cannot be at any angle but perpendicular to the surface. That’s why field lines in the vicinity of a conductor must be normal to the surface of the conductor.

Why do electric field lines point away from positive charges and toward negative charges?

Since like charges repel and unlike charges attract, the electric field of a positive charge would point away from it and the other way around for a negative charge.

How do electric field lines indicate the strength of the field?

The strength of the electric field depends on the source charge, not on the test charge. A line tangent to a field line indicates the direction of the electric field at that point. Where the field lines are close together, the electric field is stronger than where they are farther apart.

Why do the electric field lines not intersect each other?

Electric lines of force never intersect because, at the point of intersection, two tangents can be drawn to the two lines of force. This means two directions of the electric field at the point of intersection, which is not possible.

Why does the electric field go from the positive to the negative plate?

The electric field points from the positive to the negative plate- left to right. An electron will move in the opposite direction of the electric field because of its negative charge. Therefore it will move toward the left. One could also think in terms of the electron being attracted to the positively charged plate.

Why do electric field vectors point away from protons?

By convention only, the direction of an electric field at any point is the direction of the force acting on a positive test charge placed at that point. A positive charge placed in the vicinity of a proton is pushed away from the proton, hence, the direction of the electric field vector is away from the proton.

How do electrical field lines indicate the strength of an electric field quizlet?

How do electric field lines indicate the strength of an electric field? the space that surrounds electrically charged particles. The closer you get tp a charge, the stronger it gets. The repulsion of the like charges creates a space (Gap X) between their electric fields.

How do electric field lines indicate the strength of the field by how long the lines are by how close the lines are?

The strength of the field is proportional to the closeness of the field lines—more precisely, it is proportional to the number of lines per unit area perpendicular to the lines. The direction of the electric field is tangent to the field line at any point in space. Field lines can never cross.

Why do electric field lines always point in one direction?

Ans: Electric field lines always point in one direction. When two lines intersect each other, the tangents drawn at that point indicate two directions of electric field lines. This means the electric field has two directions at the same point.

What is the electric field due to a point charge?

The electric field due to a given electric charge Q is defined as the space around the charge in which electrostatic force of attraction or repulsion due to the charge Q can be experienced by another charge q. Electric Field Due to a Point Charge Formula The concept of the field was firstly introduced by Faraday.

Why is the density of electric field different at different points?

Since the number of lines passing through each area is the same, but the areas themselves are different, the field line density is different. This indicates different magnitudes of the electric field at these points. In (Figure), the same number of field lines passes through both surfaces ( S and but the surface S is larger than surface .

What is the relationship between charge and field lines?

A surface that includes the same amount of charge has the same number of field lines crossing it, regardless of the shape or size of the surface, as long as the surface encloses the same amount of charge (part (c)). Understanding the flux in terms of field lines.