SUBJECT: Creation of an Electric Dipole
DESCRIPTION: Suppose we have a positive point charge sitting right on top of a negative electric charge, so that the total charge exactly cancels out. Then there is no electric field anywhere in space. Now suppose we pull these two charges apart. In this animation, we ignore the effects of radiation. As the charges are pulled apart, we initiallly see the classic electric dipole field pattern. As the charges are moved further apart, we see the usual electric field of a point charge. We artificially terminate the field lines at a fixed distance from the charges to avoid visual confusion.
VISUALIZATION (MPG - 4 MB)