An electric field describes the region of space extending from a charged particle in which another charged particle experiences a force related to its charge. Electric fields surround all charged particles.

Surrounding every charged particle there is a region of space in which there is a potential electrostatic force. The strength of the electric field surrounding a point charge, as measured by the electrostatic force, is directly proportional to the charge and inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the charge. The electrostatic force requires no medium to act (i.e., it can act in a vacuum).

Just as all particles with mass exert a gravitational influence on all other particles, all charged particles exert an electrostatic force on all other charged particles. Because the strength of the force is the inverse of the square of the distance between the...