Electric Field Lab — Fields, Potential and Particle Motion for A Level Physics
Build custom electric fields with charges, plates, probes, rulers and particle detectors. Map potential, record graphs and investigate Millikan’s oil-drop experiment.
Learning guide and suggested activities
What this tool shows
Custom charge configurations, rotated parallel plates and superposed electric fields
Draggable field probes, potential differences, rulers and signed field/potential profiles
Electron, proton, alpha and custom particle trajectories with detector screens
Oil-drop terminal fall, voltage balance, timed rise and inferred charge quantisation
Seven specification-linked investigations, recorded graphs and SI CSV export
OCR A relevance
OCR A 6.2.1–6.2.4: charges, Coulomb’s law, uniform fields and electric potential
Charged-particle motion and parallel-plate capacitance
Oil-drop investigation as an extension applying uniform electric fields
AQA relevance
AQA 7408 section 3.7.3: Electric fields
Field mapping and potential-gradient practical reasoning
AQA Turning Points option 3.12.1.4: Millikan’s determination of electronic charge
Try these tasks
Build a dipole and distinguish zero potential from zero field.
Measure E against 1/r² and V against 1/r for a radial source.
Change voltage, gap and particle properties, then compare detector positions.
Time a falling oil drop, balance or raise it, and infer its charge.
Use multiple unknown drops to investigate charge quantisation.