Question

Open the PHET charges and fields stimulation to answer the following question

1. click on "grid" after tthat place on + charge in the center of the grid then proceed to click on electric field

Do the arrows shown in the stimulation help envision the electric field to be called field lines? How are they alike and how do they differ from the field lines, I will give a thumbs up to answers that are complete

Answer 1

Electric field cannot be called as electric field lines. The arrows in the simulation is representation of the field around a source charge and the space upto which the electric field is having its influence. Any other charge in this space is influenced by an electrostatic force due to the electric field of the source charge. But as we cannot see physically any such thing which influence the other charge, there it comes the concept of electric field lines. They are imaginary path through which a unit positive charge can move in the field. So we could say that, the electric field is a reality but field lines are only imaginary curve. To make the realisation of invisible reality , there it comes the importance of field lines. Even though they have this difference they are alike by the three dimensional orientation. That is , a field line is a space curve or a curve in three dimensions . Also the strength of electric field depends on the crowding of field lines . Field is more strong when the lines are more close to each other