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Created 3/25/18. Updates available online.

Charges And Fields

Charges And Fields Screenshot
  • Electric Field
  • Electrostatics
  • Equipotential
Flash Logo Original Sim and Translations

About

Topics

  • Electric Field
  • Electrostatics
  • Equipotential
  • Electrostatic Potential
  • Electric Charges
  • Voltage

Description

Arrange positive and negative charges in space and view the resulting electric field and electrostatic potential. Plot equipotential lines and discover their relationship to the electric field. Create models of dipoles, capacitors, and more!

Sample Learning Goals

  • Determine the variables that affect the strength and direction of the electric field for a static arrangement of charges.
  • Investigate the variables that affect the strength of the electrostatic potential (voltage).
  • Explain equipotential lines and compare them to the electric field lines.
  • For an arrangement of static charges, predict the electric field lines. Verify the prediction using vector addition.
Version 1.0.4

For Teachers

Teacher Tips

Download teacher tips PDF Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ).

Teacher-Submitted Activities

Title Gold Star Contribution Contribution by PhET Authors Level Type
Using PhET in Electricity Unit A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS		 Demo
Lab
Introduction to Static Electricity using Electric Field Hockey and Charges and Fields (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS Lab
Electric Energy and Capacitance demonstrations (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS		 Demo
Static Magnetic and Electric unit (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS Demo
HW
Lab
Mapping Electric Fields A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Elyse Zimmer HS Lab
Alignment of PhET sims with NGSS This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS Other
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? This contribution was designed by PhET. Sarah Borenstein MS Other
PhET Sims Aligned to the Chemistry Curriculum This contribution was designed by PhET. Julia Chamberlain HS
UG-Intro		 Other
Introduction to Electric Fields Student Worksheet Rachel Kieft HS Lab
Guided
HW
PhET Simulations Aligned for AP Physics C Roberta Tanner HS Other
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment Elyse Zimmer MS
HS		 Other
Investigating the relationship between field and potential around point charges Lori Fritz HS Guided
Electric Field vs Electric Potential Aubry Farenholtz HS
UG-Intro		 Guided
Discuss
Demo
Guided Inquiry - Electric Fields Ryan Thompson HS Guided
Lab
Preguntas de razonamiento para todas las simulaciones HTML5 A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Diana López MS
K-5
UG-Intro
Grad
UG-Adv
HS		 Discuss
HW
Taller Virtual campo eléctrico para cargas puntuales Alexander Perez Garcia UG-Intro Discuss
Guided
Laboratorio Virtual Potencial Eléctrico Diego Fernando Becerra Rodríguez UG-Intro Guided
Lab
HW
Discuss

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Translations

Language Download or Run Tips
Basque All Basque Run now Kargak eta eremuak
Belarusian All беларускі Run now Зарады і палі
Bosnian All Bosanski Run now Naelektrisanja i polja
Chinese (Simplified) All 中文 (中国) Run now 电荷与电场
Chinese (Traditional) All 中文 (台灣) Run now Charges And Fields_電荷與電場
Danish All Dansk Run now Ladninger og felter
Dutch All Nederlands Run now Ladingen en velden
French All français Run now Charges et champs
German All Deutsch Run now Ladungen und Felder
Greek All Ελληνικά Run now Ηλεκτρικά Φορτία & Πεδία
Hindi All हिंदी Run now आवेश और क्षेत्र 
Hungarian All magyar Run now Ponttöltések erőtere és potenciálja
Irish All Gaeilge Run now Luchtanna agus Raonta
Italian All italiano Run now Cariche e campi elettrici
Japanese All 日本語 Run now 電荷と電場
Kazakh All Kazakh Run now Charges And Fields
Korean All 한국어 Run now 하전과 전기장
Latvian All Latviešu Run now Lādiņi un lauki
Maori All Maori Run now Hihiko, Papahiko, Papa-autō
Marathi All मराठी Run now भार आणि क्षेत्र
Norwegian Bokmal All Norsk bokmål Run now Ladninger og Felt
Persian All فارسی Run now بارها و میدان ها
Polish All polski Run now Ładunki i pola
Portuguese (Brazil) All português (Brasil) Run now Cargas e Campos
Russian All русский Run now Заряды и поля
Serbian All Српски Run now Наелектрисања и поља
Slovak All Slovenčina Run now Elektrické pole nábojov
Spanish All español Run now Cargas y campos
Spanish (Mexico) All español (México) Run now Cargas y campos
Spanish (Peru) All español (Perú) Run now Cargas y Campos
Spanish (Spain) All español (España) Run now Cargas y campos
Swedish All svenska Run now Laddningar och fält
Ukrainian All українська Run now Заряди і поля
Vietnamese All Tiếng Việt Run now Điện tích và điện trường

Software Requirements

Windows 7+ Mac OS 10.7+ iPad and iPad Mini with iOS Chromebook with Chrome OS
Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer 11, latest version of Firefox, latest version of Chrome.
Safari 9+, latest version of Firefox, latest version of Chrome.
Latest version of Safari
Latest version of Chrome

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Amy Rouinfar (lead designer - HTML5)
  • Michael Dubson (lead designer/developer - Flash)
  • Andrew Adare (developer)
  • Martin Veillette (developer)
  • Ariel Paul
  • Kathy Perkins
  • undefined
English
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