Electrostatics

This simulation explores the electric field and the electric potential around a set of point charges. Use the palette in the window to add charges. The charge can be set using the slider below. Test charges can be inserted to measure the field. The values displayed are for the selected test charge. Note that this simulation shows two and three dimensional configurations; with the two dimensional representation effectively showing a cross section. It is not possible to showfield lines, as these run perpendicular to the screen.

Start with field lines and potential contours to visualise how these relate to simple charge configurations. Additional charges can be added to make more complex configurations such as capacitors.