MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - Creating an Electric Field

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supported by the National Science Foundation
written by John Belcher
designer: Michael Danziger

This is an animation of the creation of an electric field through charge separation. It begins with five negative and five positive charges, all at the same point in space (no electric field). One by one, the five positive charges are moved at constant velocity to the same position L along the horizontal axis. The strength of the electric field grows as each positive charge is moved into place. The item may be viewed as a video or in stepped motion.

This item is part of a larger collection of visualizations developed by the MIT TEAL/Studio Physics Project to support an introductory course in electricity and magnetism. Lecture notes, labs, and presentations are also available as part of the MIT Open Courseware Repository:
MIT Open Courseware: Electricity and Magnetism

Please note that this resource requires Quicktime.

http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostati...

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Practices - Technology = Multimedia Electricity & Magnetism - Electric Fields and Potential = Electric Field - Electrostatics = Coulomb's Law	- High School - Lower Undergraduate	- Audio/Visual = Movie/Animation

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Learners - Educators	- video/quicktime	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Free access
License:: This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
Rights Holder:: MIT Open Courseware (OCW): http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/terms/terms/index.htm
Keywords:: Coulomb, animation, charge separation, dipole, dipole field, electric dipole, field lines, field strength
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created April 12, 2010 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: July 19, 2011 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: May 24, 2008
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=9952">Belcher, John. MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - Creating an Electric Field. May 24, 2008.</a>

AIP Format

J. Belcher, (2004), WWW Document, (http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/CreateField/createField.htm).

AJP/PRST-PER

J. Belcher, MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - Creating an Electric Field (2004), <http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/CreateField/createField.htm>.

APA Format

Belcher, J. (2008, May 24). MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - Creating an Electric Field. Retrieved October 31, 2025, from http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/CreateField/createField.htm

Chicago Format

Belcher, John. MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - Creating an Electric Field. May 24, 2008. http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/CreateField/createField.htm (accessed 31 October 2025).

MLA Format

Belcher, John. MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - Creating an Electric Field. 2004. 24 May 2008. National Science Foundation. 31 Oct. 2025 <http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/CreateField/createField.htm>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Author = "John Belcher", Title = {MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - Creating an Electric Field}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {31 October 2025}, Month = {May 24, 2008}, Year = {2004} }

Refer Export Format

%A John Belcher %T MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - Creating an Electric Field %D May 24, 2008 %U http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/CreateField/createField.htm %O video/quicktime

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %A Belcher, John %D May 24, 2008 %T MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - Creating an Electric Field %V 2025 %N 31 October 2025 %8 May 24, 2008 %9 video/quicktime %U http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/electrostatics/CreateField/createField.htm

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The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

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MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - Creating an Electric Field:

Covers the Same Topic As MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - Creation of an Electric Dipole

This related animation by the same authors shows the separation of one positive and one negative charge of equal magnitudes, resulting in the classic electric dipole field pattern.

relation by Caroline Hall

Accompanies MIT Physics 8.02: Electrostatics - Destroying an Electric Field

A companion animation by the same authors that depicts the opposite phenomenon: the destruction of an electric field. It begins with five positive and five negative electric charges separated by a distance L in space. One-by-one, the positive charges are moved to the position of the negative charges, with strength of field decreasing as each charge is moved into place.

relation by Caroline Hall

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