Q.Write the properties of electric lines of forces.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Electric lines of force are a geometric device to visualize the electric field; their direction, spacing, and behavior at conductors follow directly from the properties of the electrostatic field.
An electric line of force is an imaginary curve drawn in an electric field such that the tangent to it at any point gives the direction of the electric field at that point. Its key properties are:
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Field lines originate from a positive charge and terminate on a negative charge. For an isolated positive charge, lines start on the charge and go out to infinity; for an isolated negative charge, lines come in from infinity and terminate on the charge.
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The tangent to a field line at any point gives the direction of at that point. This is essentially the defining property of a field line.
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No two field lines can intersect. If two lines crossed, the field at the point of intersection would have two different directions simultaneously, which is impossible since the electric field at any point is unique.
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The number of lines originating from (or terminating on) a charge is proportional to the magnitude of the charge, and by convention the number of lines per unit area, drawn perpendicular to the lines, represents the magnitude of the field.
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The relative closeness of the lines indicates the relative strength of the field — field lines are closely spaced where the field is strong and widely spaced where it is weak; in a uniform field the lines are parallel and equally spaced.
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