Any electric charge creates a corresponding electric field (denoted by ) due to that charge. The electric field extends to infinity, but with diminishing strength as the distance increases. The value of the electric field quantifies exactly how much another particle will be affected by the charge on the original particle. The electric field of a single point charge is given by the following equation: Thus, it follows that if another particle is placed in the electric field, there will be a corresponding force on that particle exerted by the original particle. This is given by the following equation: In this way the electric field shows how one charge exerts a force on another charge. This force is communicated through space: an action at a distance force that modifies the properties of space around it.
