8.02 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Scalar Field, Vector Field, Net Force
Document Summary
Action at a distance: the worldwide view that the interaction of two material objects requires no mechanism other than the objects themselves and the empty space between them. Total eld: the total eld due to both the constant electric eld and the eld of the point charge. Scalar field: a function that gives us a single value of some variable for every point in space. Vector field: a quantity that has both a magnitude and a direction in space. Example: uid ow, velocity, momentum, acceleration, force, gravity. Electrostatic force: the force between electrically charged objects at rest. The electrostatic force between charged objects falls off as the inverse square of their distance of separation, and can either be attractive or repulsive. Magnetic fields are another example of vector elds. The magnetic eld of a bar magnet has lines traveling from the north pole to the south pole.
