A measure of the force exerted by one charged body on another. Imaginary lines of force or electric field lines originate (by convention) on positive charges and terminate on negative charges. They can be thought of as elastic lines which repel each other in a direction perpendicular to the line itself. The electric field intensity (volts/meter) at any location is the force (Newtons) that would be experienced by unit test charge (Coulombs) placed at the location. A uniform electric field is an ideal case in which the electric field lines are parallel with one another, for example between the plates of a large, parallel plate air capacitor. A divergent electric field is one in which the field intensity changes with distance, for example in a capacitor comprising a sphere and a plate. In practical situations electric fields are rarely uniform, particularly within solids and liquids.
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