11 GCSE Electric Fields

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Revision notes:

Section 1: Electric Fields

All charged objects have an electric field around them. We can represent electric fields around an object as below. One thing that is important to note here is the direction of the arrows on the field lines. As you can see, for a positive object, the arrows point away from the object. For a negative object, the arrows point towards the object. Another important idea to note is the closeness together of the field lines. The closer together the field lines are, the stronger its electric field.

When an object is placed into the electric field of an object, it experiences a force. This causes either electrostatic repulsion (when the objects repel due to them being the same charge) or electrostatic attraction (when the objects attract due to being opposite charges).

The strength of the of this force depends how close you are to the object. The further away from the object, the weaker its electric field.

Section 2: Sparking

Let’s return to the idea of sparking. Remember, when an object touches a charged object the electrons jump, causing a spark. It is the electric fields that cause electrons in the air to be removed (this is known as ionisation). This makes air a conductor (i.e. so a charge can flow through it), allowing the electrons to jump across the objects. You do need to able to explain sparking in terms of electric fields, so you need to understand the importance of the electric fields in making the air more conducive, as mentioned above.