is Postive Electric Field at high potential or Negative electric field?

khamaar

What i mean to say is, for example we have two plates, one positive the other negative...

By convention the positive is said to be at a higher potential than the negative one..

But what if i put an electron between these two plates. The electron would obviously go towards the positive terminal.

How is this possible?...a thing going from lower potential to higher potential?? I was taught that things spontaneously go from Higher to lower!!


Thanks in advance

tiny-tim

hi khamaar! welcome to pf!
no, things don't spontaneously go from higher potential to lower

they spontaneously go from higher potential energy to lower …

and electric potential is potential energy per charge …

(just like gravitational potential being potential energy per mass)

so an electron (with negative charge) going to higher potential does go to lower potential energy!

khamaar

ohhhhh...thanks, i understand..but now there is one other problem.

An electron is left in a positive electric field. Does it go Up the potential gradient? or down the potential gradient?..

thnx in advance...
(PS. this is a question, which i read in some book today)

tiny-tim

well, up is to a higher electric potential, sooo … ?

khamaar

so an electron moves up the potential gradient in an electric field?

tiny-tim

yup!