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Electromagnetic Fields

Electromagnetic Fields

Electric fields generated by static charges, often referred to as electrostatic fields, are characteristically different from electric fields created by time-varying magnetic fields. While the former is a conservative field, implying that no net work is done on a test charge if it goes around in a complete loop in the field, the latter is, by definition, not a conservative field; net work is done, and it is proportional to the rate of change of magnetic flux.
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Induced Electric Fields

Induced Electric Fields

The fact that emfs are induced in circuits implies that work is being done on the conduction electrons in the wires. What can possibly be the source of this work? We know that it’s neither a battery nor a magnetic field, as a battery does not have to be present in a circuit where current is induced, and magnetic fields never do any work on moving charges. The source of the work is in fact an electric field that is induced in the wires. For example, if a stationary conductor is placed in a...

Induced Electric Fields: Applications

Induced Electric Fields: Applications

An important distinction exists between the electric field induced by a changing magnetic field and the electrostatic field produced by a fixed charge distribution. Specifically, the induced electric field is nonconservative because it does not work in moving a charge over a closed path. In contrast, the electrostatic field is conservative and does no net work over a closed path. Hence, electric potential can be associated with the electrostatic field but not the induced field. The following...

Magnetic Fields

Magnetic Fields

A moving charge or a current creates a magnetic field in the surrounding space, in addition to its electric field. The magnetic field exerts a force on any other moving charge or current that is present in the field. Like an electric field, the magnetic field is also a vector field. At any position, the direction of the magnetic field is defined as the direction in which the north pole of a compass needle points.
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Electric Field Lines

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Electric Field of Two Equal and Opposite Charges

Atoms generally contain the same number of positively and negatively charged particles, protons, and electrons. Hence, they are electrically neutral. However, the centers of the positive and negative charges do not always coincide. In such a scenario, the electric field of an atom may not be zero.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 19, 2026

Generation and Control of Electrohydrodynamic Flows in Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions

Generation and Control of Electrohydrodynamic Flows in Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions

Published on: September 7, 2018

Electric fields yield chaos in microflows.

Jonathan D Posner¹, Carlos L Pérez, Juan G Santiago

¹Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|August 22, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study reveals complex chaotic dynamics in low Reynolds number electrokinetic flow. Increasing electric Rayleigh number (Ra(e)) drives transitions between steady, periodic, and chaotic states, including novel re-ordering phenomena.

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Generation and Control of Electrohydrodynamic Flows in Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions

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Published on: July 28, 2008

Area of Science:

Fluid Dynamics
Nonlinear Dynamics
Electrokinetics

Background:

Electrokinetic flows involve electric fields and electric double layers.
Applied electric fields can induce flow instabilities via conductivity gradients.
The electric Rayleigh number (Ra(e)) governs instability thresholds.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate chaotic dynamics in low Reynolds number electrokinetic flow.
Characterize transitions between steady, periodic, and chaotic flow states.
Explore the role of electric fluid body forces in generating strange attractors.

Main Methods:

Monotonic increase of the electric Rayleigh number (Ra(e)).
Analysis of flow dynamics, including transitions to periodic and chaotic states.
Utilized temporal power spectra and time-delay phase maps.

Main Results:

Observed transitions from steady to periodic, then chaotic states as Ra(e) increases.
Discovered a unique re-ordering transition followed by a second chaotic state.
Reported strange attractors driven by electric fluid body forces.

Conclusions:

Demonstrated a sequence of periodic-to-aperiodic transitions in electrokinetic flow.
Highlighted the novel emergence of chaotic dynamics and strange attractors.
Provided unique insights into nonlinear behavior driven by electric forces.