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ElectricityWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

fieldisdefinedintermsofforce,andforceisavector,soitfollows
thatanelectricfieldisalsoavector,havingbothmagnitudeand
direction.Specifically,itisavectorfield.[17]:469470
Thestudyofelectricfieldscreatedbystationarychargesiscalled
electrostatics.Thefieldmaybevisualisedbyasetofimaginary
lineswhosedirectionatanypointisthesameasthatofthefield.
ThisconceptwasintroducedbyFaraday,[38]whoseterm'linesof
force'stillsometimesseesuse.Thefieldlinesarethepathsthata
pointpositivechargewouldseektomakeasitwasforcedtomove
withinthefieldtheyarehoweveranimaginaryconceptwithno
Fieldlinesemanatingfromapositive
physicalexistence,andthefieldpermeatesalltheinterveningspace
chargeaboveaplaneconductor
[38]
betweenthelines. Fieldlinesemanatingfromstationarycharges
haveseveralkeyproperties:first,thattheyoriginateatpositive
chargesandterminateatnegativechargessecond,thattheymustenteranygoodconductoratrightangles,
andthird,thattheymaynevercrossnorcloseinonthemselves.[17]:479
Ahollowconductingbodycarriesallitschargeonitsoutersurface.Thefieldisthereforezeroatallplaces
insidethebody.[24]:88ThisistheoperatingprincipaloftheFaradaycage,aconductingmetalshellwhich
isolatesitsinteriorfromoutsideelectricaleffects.
Theprinciplesofelectrostaticsareimportantwhendesigningitemsofhighvoltageequipment.Thereisa
finitelimittotheelectricfieldstrengththatmaybewithstoodbyanymedium.Beyondthispoint,electrical
breakdownoccursandanelectricarccausesflashoverbetweenthechargedparts.Air,forexample,tendsto
arcacrosssmallgapsatelectricfieldstrengthswhichexceed30kVpercentimetre.Overlargergaps,its
breakdownstrengthisweaker,perhaps1kVpercentimetre.[39]Themostvisiblenaturaloccurrenceofthis
islightning,causedwhenchargebecomesseparatedinthecloudsbyrisingcolumnsofair,andraisesthe
electricfieldintheairtogreaterthanitcanwithstand.Thevoltageofalargelightningcloudmaybeashigh
as100MVandhavedischargeenergiesasgreatas250kWh.[40]
Thefieldstrengthisgreatlyaffectedbynearbyconductingobjects,anditisparticularlyintensewhenitis
forcedtocurvearoundsharplypointedobjects.Thisprincipleisexploitedinthelightningconductor,the
sharpspikeofwhichactstoencouragethelightningstroketodevelopthere,ratherthantothebuildingit
servestoprotect[41]:155

Electricpotential
Theconceptofelectricpotentialiscloselylinkedtothatoftheelectricfield.Asmallchargeplacedwithin
anelectricfieldexperiencesaforce,andtohavebroughtthatchargetothatpointagainsttheforcerequires
work.Theelectricpotentialatanypointisdefinedastheenergyrequiredtobringaunittestchargefroman
infinitedistanceslowlytothatpoint.Itisusuallymeasuredinvolts,andonevoltisthepotentialforwhich
onejouleofworkmustbeexpendedtobringachargeofonecoulombfrominfinity.[17]:494498This
definitionofpotential,whileformal,haslittlepracticalapplication,andamoreusefulconceptisthatof
electricpotentialdifference,andistheenergyrequiredtomoveaunitchargebetweentwospecifiedpoints.
Anelectricfieldhasthespecialpropertythatitisconservative,whichmeansthatthepathtakenbythetest
chargeisirrelevant:allpathsbetweentwospecifiedpointsexpendthesameenergy,andthusauniquevalue
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