45
QuizMultiple Choice

Unit Test — Unit test

Question 45 • Crowley Credit Recovery Physics B

Electric field lines can never cross. What would crossed electric field lines indicate?

Answer
A
a field pointing in two directions
B
an attractive force on a charge
C
a nonuniform area of the field
D
a place where the field strength is zero

Explanation

The electric field at any point has one definite direction, given by the direction of the force on a positive test charge. If two field lines crossed, the crossing point would imply two different field directions at once. So crossed lines would indicate a field pointing in two directions, which is why electric field lines cannot cross.

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