Because to completely describe it you must know both how strong it is (magnitude) and in what direction it points.
Direction of the electric field vector is the direction of the force experienced by a charged particle in an external electric field.
No, the velocity vector of a charged particle is not affected by the electric field if it is perpendicular to the field. The electric force acting on the particle is zero in this case because the force is given by the product of charge and the component of electric field parallel to the velocity vector.
Scaler. The electric field is its vector counterpart.
From an electric field vector at one point, you can determine the direction of the electrostatic force on a test charge of known sign at that point. You can also determine the magnitude of the electrostatic force exerted per unit charge on a test charge at that point.
Electric field is a vector quantity, as it has both magnitude and direction. The direction of the electric field at a point is the direction of the force that a positive test charge would experience if placed at that point.
Scaler. Its vector counterpart is the electric field.
Yes, it is.
Light is characterized by its electric vector because its interactions with matter are primarily through the electric field. The magnetic field of light comes into play when dealing with certain materials or under specific conditions, such as in radio waves or at high frequencies, but in general, the electric field of light is more prominent in its interactions with matter.
The strength of the electric field is a scalar quantity. But it's the magnitude of thecomplete electric field vector.At any point in space, the electric field vector is the strength of the force, and thedirection in which it points, that would be felt by a tiny positive charge located there.
The torque on an electric dipole in an electric field is maximum when the dipole is aligned parallel or anti-parallel to the electric field lines. This occurs because the torque is given by the cross product of the electric dipole moment vector and the electric field vector, and it is maximum when the angle between them is 90 degrees.
The strength of the electric field is a scalar quantity. But it's the magnitude of thecomplete electric field vector.At any point in space, the electric field vector is the strength of the force, and thedirection in which it points, that would be felt by a tiny positive charge located there.
This is the electric field vector of a plane-wave light beam of angular frequency ω=2πc/λ travelling in the direction of a unit vector n with velocity c: E=E(0) exp [-iω(t-n·r/c)]