Physics: Principles with Applications (7th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-32162-592-7
ISBN 13: 978-0-32162-592-2

Chapter 16 - Electric Charge and Electric Field - Questions - Page 467: 13

Answer

A test charge that is too large will interfere with the electric field being measured and alter the result.

Work Step by Step

The test charge generates its own electric field, so it’s best to use a small test charge so the field that it makes is small. That way, it won’t interfere much with the original electric field that we wanted to measure.
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