| DESCRIPTION:
An animation of the creation of an electric field by
an external agent who separates charges. We start out
with five negative electric charges and five positive
charges, all at the same point in space. Since there
is no net charge, there is no electric field. Now the
agent moves one of the positive charges at constant
velocity from its initial position to a distance L away
along the horizontal axis. After doing that, the agent
moves the second positive charge in the same manner
to the position where the first positive charge sits.
The agent continues on with the rest of the positive
charges in the same manner, until all the positive charges
are sitting a distance L from their initial position
along the horizontal axis. We have color coded the "grass
seeds" representation to represent the strength
of the electric field. Very strong fields are white,
very weak fields are black, and fields of intermediate
strength are yellow.
The field lines move in the direction of the energy
flow of the electromagnetic field. Over the course of
the animation, the strength of the electric field grows
as each positive charge is moved into place. That energy
flows out from the path along which the charges move,
and is being provided by the agent moving the charge
against the electric field of the other charges. The
work that this agent does to separate the charges against
their electric attraction appears as energy in the electric
field.
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