Description: Electrically charged particles attract or repel each other via the electric force – like charges repel, opposite charges attract. In physics, it has proven practical to divide the action of one charge on others into two steps: Every particle that carries an electric charge is taken to produce a so-called electric field in the surrounding space. The force acting on a second particle is given directly by the direction and strength ("field vector") of the electric field at the location of that second particle: multiply the field with the value of the second particle's electric charge to obtain the force acting on that second particle. The force acting on the first particle is then of the same strength but in the opposite direction.

Related Terms:

• Electromagnetic Force

Term and definition status: This term and its definition have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher

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