Electric Field
Definition
The invisible zone of influence around any charge — the region where another charge would feel a push or pull.
Symbol: · Unit: newtons per coulomb (N/C)
Technical definition
A vector field giving the force per unit positive charge at each point, E = F/q, measured in N/C (equivalently V/m). Field lines point away from positive charges and toward negative ones; their density shows field strength.
Example
A Van de Graaff generator builds an electric field so strong near its dome that it rips electrons off nearby air molecules — which is why your hair stands up before you even touch it.
The electric field is not the force — it is force per unit charge. The field exists around a charge whether or not any second charge is there to feel it, like a hill exists whether or not anyone is sledding on it. Students who treat E as a property of the test charge get both the direction and the units wrong.