Why do the electrostatic field lines not form closed loops?

Question

Accepted Answer

Statement: Electrostatic field lines never form closed loops.

Reason 1: Origin and termination of field lines
Electric field lines:
• Start from positive charges
• Terminate at negative charges (or extend to infinity)

They originate and end at different points, so they cannot form a closed loop.

Reason 2: Conservative nature of electric field
The electrostatic force is a conservative force.

For a conservative force, work done in moving a charge around a closed path is zero:
∮ E·dl = 0

If field lines formed a closed loop, then a charge moving along the loop would gain energy (work done would be non-zero), which violates the conservative nature.

Conclusion: Therefore, electrostatic field lines do not form closed loops.

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