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Electric current is a flow of charge and its density, J, is given by Current/Area in simple one
dimensional case. Electric field presents when there is a potential difference across any medium,
such as parallel plate and model resistor configurations in this experiment. The potential difference,
V, is actually the change in potential energy of a charge at one potential to another and electric field,
E, is about the force on the charge at any points (F=qE). Any other charge placed in this field then
experiences a Coulomb force. The direction of force depends on the polarity of the charge.
When the charge is moved a small distance, the work done, W, by external force is now a line
A
E
B
E
B
J
S
summing all components of I over the complete surface where the surface integral, I=
S.
For a
J
s
closed surface,
S=0 by Kirchhoff's Current Law. The current density varies in magnitude and
direction and it is mapped in the same way as the electric field by drawing lines of current density
which show the direction of the current at each point. This is because the electric current is in the
direction of the electric field.
The equipotentials parallel to the electrode at their surface because the lines are determined
by the direction of the electric field which is perpendicular to the electrode surface in this case. Since
equipotentials are always normal to the field lines, they must be parallel to the surface.
However equipotentials do cross the insulating boundaries at 90 because those insulating
boundaries does not affect the potential lines, plus, the charge distribution is not continuous, unlike
the electrode surface, the lines can be in any direction.