What does the flux of a vector field mean physically?
like Electric Flux or Magnetic Flux..From the lectures I learnt that for a mathematician its just a line integral... what is the significance of the flux of a vector field for physicists?

Question

What does the flux of a vector field mean physically?
like Electric Flux or Magnetic Flux..From the lectures I learnt that for a mathematician its just a line integral... what is the significance of the flux of a vector field for physicists?

anonymous · Answer

First of all, it is not a line integral but a surface integral. Regarding its physical interpretation, it measures the number of field lines which go through a certain surface. I have attached an image from Wikipedia which depicts this relationship.

anonymous · Answer

Well, I was yet to see the lectures on Vectors in space. Until then, In 2 dimensions, it was a line integral of a vector field. Thank you for the help.