Positive point chargeIts field lines point straight out, away from it.
Negative point chargeIts field lines point straight in, toward it.
Electric field lineIt shows which way the field points along its path.
Direction of the fieldThe arrowhead. A positive test charge gets pushed this way.
Two charges 2
Electric dipoleA positive and a negative charge of equal size.
Like chargesTwo charges with one sign. Their lines bend apart.
Two plates 4
Positive plateThe field lines start on this plate.
Negative plateThe field lines end on this plate.
Uniform fieldThe field is the same everywhere between the plates.
Positive test chargeA small charge used to test the field. The force on it points along the field.
How this list was compiled: Every name and fact checked on 2026-10-03, a name kept only where two independent texts use it. (1) Wikipedia, text only, Electric field and Field line: the field as the force on a positive test charge; field lines that begin on positive charges and end on negative charges and never cross; closer lines where the field is stronger; straight lines from a single point charge; a uniform field between two parallel conducting plates, with a positive charge pushed away from the positively charged plate. (2) Georgia State University, HyperPhysics, Electric Field, Electric Dipole, Equipotential Lines and Electric Field: Parallel Plates: the direction of the field as the direction of the force on a positive test charge; the field radially outward from a positive point charge and radially in toward a negative one; an electric dipole as a pair of opposite charges; oppositely charged parallel plates with field lines perpendicular to them. (3) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, course 8.02 notes, chapter 2 (Coulomb's Law): field lines radially outward for a positive charge and inward for a negative one; an electric dipole, two equal but opposite charges; two charges of the same sign; the rules for field lines; two parallel plates of opposite charges with a uniform field between them; a positive test charge. (4) A physics teaching site, lesson on electric field lines: arrowheads for the direction of the field; lines away from positive and toward negative charges; the pattern for two positive charges. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry; the curved lines are computed from the field of two point charges; nothing traced or copied. Licence: own work
How it works
This electric field diagram is labeled in three views: one point charge, two charges and two charged plates. The lines point away from positive charge and toward negative charge.
Read the full guide
Reading the field lines
An electric field line shows the direction of the force on a small positive test charge. Lines start on positive charges and end on negative charges. They never cross, and they are closest together where the field is strongest.
Three patterns
Around one point charge the lines are straight. Between the unlike charges of an electric dipole they curve from the positive charge to the negative one, and the lines of two like charges bend away from each other. Between two charged plates they are straight, parallel and evenly spaced: a uniform field.
Questions and answers
Which way do electric field lines point?
Away from positive charges and toward negative charges. That is the direction of the force a small positive test charge would feel at each point.
Why do electric field lines never cross?
At any point the field has only one direction. If two lines crossed, the field would have to point two ways at once at the crossing.
What does it mean when field lines are close together?
The field is stronger there. Lines are crowded near a charge and spread out farther from it, where the field is weaker.
What is a uniform electric field?
A field with the same strength and direction at every point. The field between two parallel plates with opposite charges is very nearly uniform, so its lines are straight, parallel and evenly spaced.
What is an electric dipole?
A pair of charges of equal size and opposite sign, a short distance apart. Its field lines leave the positive charge and curve round to the negative one.