MP Board · Class 12 · Physics · Electric Charges and FieldsState four important properties of electric field lines. Why can two electric field lines never cross each other?

Properties of Electric Field Lines:

1. Continuous Curves: Electric field lines are continuous smooth curves that originate from a positive charge and terminate on a negative charge. They do not form closed loops.
2. Tangent Indicates Direction: The tangent drawn at any point on an electric field line gives the direction of the electric field vector at that specific point.
3. Relative Density: The relative closeness or density of field lines in a region indicates the strength of the electric field. Stronger fields have closely spaced field lines.
4. Normal to Conductor Surface: Electric field lines always start or end normal (perpendicular) to the surface of a conductor in electrostatic equilibrium.

Why Two Field Lines Cannot Intersect:\nIf two electric field lines were to intersect at a point, two tangents could be drawn at that single point of intersection. This would imply two different directions for the electric field at the same point, which is physically impossible because a unique net electric field vector can exist at any given point in space.