Final answer:
The electric field is a vector quantity that represents the force per unit charge at a point in space, with units of N/C. A field directed 'toward the wire' indicates a negative charge on the wire. The strength of the field depends on the wire's charge per unit length and the distance from the wire.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Electric Fields Near a Charged Wire
The electric field is a fundamental concept in physics that represents the force exerted per unit charge at a given point in space. The direction of an electric field is defined as the direction that a positive test charge would experience a force when placed in the field. The units for electric field strength are Newtons per Coulomb (N/C).
When discussing an electric field that is directed 'toward the wire,' it implies that the wire has a negatively charged distribution. Since a positive test charge aawould be attracted toward a negatively charged object, the electric field must be pointing inward, toward the center of the charged wire. The magnitude of the electric field serves as a measure of the force a unit charge would feel at a specified distance from the wire.
To understand the observed electric field of 2100 N/C directed toward a very long charged wire, we must consider properties such as the linear charge density (λ), which can be calculated using the formula for the electric field around a long, straight conductor (E = (2kλ)/r). This implies that the electric field intensity is inversely proportional to the distance from the wire and directly proportional to the amount of charge per unit length on the wire.