Electric field lines reveal information about the direction (and the strength) of an electric field within a region of space. If the lines cross each other at a given location, then there must be two distinctly different values of electric field with their own individual direction at that given location.
How do electrical field lines indicate the strength of an electric field?
The strength of the electric field depends on the source charge, not on the test charge. … A line tangent to a field line indicates the direction of the electric field at that point. Where the field lines are close together, the electric field is stronger than where they are farther apart.
Where do you expect the strongest electric field?
The direction of the field line at a point is the direction of the field at that point. The relative magnitude of the electric field is proportional to the density of the field lines. Where the field lines are close together the field is strongest; where the field lines are far apart the field is weakest.
Why can’t electric field lines cross?
Electric field lines cannot cross. … This is because they are, by definition, a line of constant potential. The equipotential at a given point in space can only have a single value. If lines for two different values of the potential were to cross, then they would no longer represent equipotential lines.