Electric dipole

An electric dipole is a pair of equal and opposite charges separated by a distance. Its strength and orientation are described by the electric dipole moment.

Electric dipole moment: A vector equal to charge times the displacement from negative to positive charge. It captures the dipole’s strength and orientation in a single quantity.
Electric charge: A property of matter that causes electric forces, occurring with positive or negative sign. Opposite charges are the two essential constituents of an electric dipole.
Water molecule: A bent molecule with one oxygen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms and a permanent electric dipole moment. Its permanent dipole helps explain water’s interactions with electric fields and other polar molecules.
Electric monopole: A source with nonzero net electric charge, characterized by its total charge. Unlike a dipole, a monopole has nonzero net charge and dominates the far field when present.
Electric field: A vector field describing the force per unit positive charge at each point in space. The dipole’s field has a distinctive directional pattern and distance dependence.
Coulomb's law: The law giving the electrostatic force between two point charges as proportional to their product and inversely proportional to distance squared. It determines the force between the dipole’s two charges and their external interactions.
Dielectric: An electrical insulator whose polarization changes in response to an applied electric field. Microscopic dipoles in dielectrics contribute to their macroscopic polarization.
Magnetic dipole: A source characterized by a magnetic dipole moment, such as a current loop or a small bar magnet. It has a dipole-shaped field but arises from magnetic moments or currents, not separated electric charges.
Torque: A measure of the rotational effect of a force about an axis or point. A uniform electric field exerts torque that tends to align the dipole moment.
Vector: A quantity with magnitude and direction, represented by components in a coordinate system. The dipole moment points from negative charge toward positive charge.

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