[Physics] Why don’t magnetic and electric field lines collide

electric-fieldsmagnetic fields

Why can't they meet or cut each other? I know magnetic field lines don't intersect with magnetic field lines and electric field lines don't intersect with electric field lines but why don't these intersect each other despite being of dissimilar nature?

Also do gravitational field lines also not interact with magnetic and electric field lines?

Aren't electric and magnetic fields in some sort of other planes or dimension? Because we can't feel them?

Best Answer

They can. See https://www.wyzant.com/resources/lessons/science/physics/magnetism

Electric fields are around charged objects. Most wires have equal numbers of electrons and protons. So they have no net charge and no electric field. But if they have extra electrons, they will have a charge. In the link, the picture of the wire shows the electric field when charges are sitting still.

Moving charges generate magnetic fields. In a wire, negatively charged electrons move and create a magnetic field. In most cases, positive nuclei pretty much stay still and don't generate significant magnetic fields. The picture shows the magnetic field of a steady current in a wire with no charge.

It is possible to have a current in a charged wire. You would see both electric and magnetic fields then. They would intersect.


You ask if field lines can cut or meet each other. You may be thinking of them as physical objects. They are not.

When you look at a topo map, you see lines of constant altitude drawn on them. Those lines are useful, and represent something physical. But when you walk around, you never see one. Magnetic and electric field lines are like that.


For completeness, I should mention some things I ignored above. Things get more complex when charges move in more complex ways. For example, electrons orbit nucei. Electrons and nuclei spin. Both of these generate magnetic fields. They are often small enough to ignore for everyday purposes. But not always. For example, this is the source of magnetic fields in permanent magnets. A full description requires quantum mechanics and relativity.

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