Part 3: Determining the Magnitude and Direction of the Electric Field
Use your potential measurements from Table 1 to calculate the electric field along the central line in the region between the plates. Recall:
![\[E = - \frac{\Delta V}{\Delta r}\]](https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/quicklatex/quicklatex.com-bd5fbd0feaa62662caa2ed8ba26d1d3a_l3.png "Rendered by QuickLaTeX.com")
Record your results in Table 3. Plot electric field inside the plates vs. distance.
Question 6
Discuss the electric field direction you observed, and how you determined it.
Question 7
Is the electric field along the central line fixed or variable? Do not forget that this is a vector quantity, so that fixed means fixed in magnitude and direction.
Now Use your potential measurements from Table 2 to calculate the electric field along the central line in the region outside the plates (at the top of plate “A”) from before you switched the wires. Record your results in Table 3. Plot electric field outside the plates vs. distance on the same graph from above.
Question 8
How does the electric field outside the plates, on the central line, compare to the field inside the plates?