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Can electric field lines do work?

Updated: 9/22/2023
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11y ago

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Yes.

Work is force times distance, or technically the dot product of vector force times vector distance. Electric fields exert force on charge and the force does work when the charge moves in the direction of the electric force. (In the converse, when the movement of charge is against the direction of force, work is transformed into stored electromagnetic energy.)

Technically, it is the electric field that does work and not the field line.

Mother nature produces electric fields, but humans can not see electric fields. Humans invented the idea of field lines to create a mental picture of the field. The two most common ways are to draw lines in space or to draw a collection of arrows in space.

Note:

One should not confuse this answer with the question of whether work can be done by a magnetic field. A magnetic field can not do work because the direction of the magnetic force is always perpendicular to the direction of motion of charge and hence the dot product of force and distance moved is always zero.

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Q: Can electric field lines do work?
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The lines in each diagram represent an electric field. The stronger the field, the close together the lines are.


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No, if two electric field lines are drawn at a point, this would meant two directions of electric field at that point which is impossible.


What is meant by electric field intencity?

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An electric field has?

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