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Electric Fields
Halt! This science fiction image shows a human hand surrounded by a green
force field. It’s supposed to represent an electric field generated by a hand.
What is an electric field? Read on to find out.
What Is an Electric Field?
An electric field is a space around a charged particle where the particle exerts
electric force on other charged particles. Because of their force fields, charged
particles can exert force on each other without actually touching. Electric fields
are generally represented by arrows, as you can see in theFigure below. The
arrows show the direction of electric force around a positive particle and a
negative particle.
Interacting Electric Fields
When charged particles are close enough to exert force on each other, their
electric fields interact. This is illustrated in the Figure below. The lines of force
bend together when particles with different charges attract each other. The lines
bend apart when particles with like charges repel each other.
Note: +q = positive charge and –q = negative charge
Q: What would the lines of force look like around two negative particles?
A: They would look like the lines around two positive particles, except the arrows
would point toward, rather than away from, the negative particles.
Summary

An electric field is a space surrounding a charged particle where the particle
exerts electric force.

When charged particles are close enough to exert force on each other, their
electric fields interact. Particles with opposite charges attract each other.
Particles with like charges repel each other.