Electric Fields for Three Point Charges

q

1

-1

q

2

2

q

3

-1

The electric field of a point charge

q

at

r

0

is given (in Gaussian units) by

E(r)=q(r-

r

0

)r-

r

0

3

|

. The lines of force representing this field radiate outward from a positive charge and converge inward toward a negative charge. The composite field of several charges is the vector sum of the individual fields. In this Demonstration, you can move the three charges, shown as small circles, and vary their electric charges to generate a stream plot of the electric field.