Does the electrostatic force in an Electric Field act along (parallel to) the direction of the field lines, from + to - ? Or would this electrostatic force act in the direction applying to the charge of a particle (between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor) depending on wether the particle is positively or negatively charged?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated! :)

Question

Does the electrostatic force in an Electric Field act along (parallel to) the direction of the field lines, from + to - ? Or would this electrostatic force act in the direction applying to the charge of a particle (between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor) depending on wether the particle is positively or negatively charged?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated! :)

amonoconnor · Answer

If there is an electron located in the middle of two parallel conducting plates,which create an electric field acting from left to right, will the electrostatic force act towards the positive plate, as the electron would be attracted to that plate, or does this force act along the plates' field force (lines), potentially keeping the electron at rest, if the force of the electron on the negative plate is equal to the "electrostatic force".

agent0smith · Answer

If the field goes left to right (ie + to -) then:
a positive test charge will be forced left
a negative test charge will be forced right

There is way too many words in this question, when you need very few words to understand this. See diagram. 

|dw:1399606843908:dw|

amonoconnor · Answer

Alright this totally makes sense. Yes, I suppose I made it more complicated than it should have been. Thank you!