physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

, field strength refers to a value in a

vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...

-valued

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(e.g., in volts per meter, V/m, for an

electric field An electric field (sometimes called E-field) is a field (physics), physical field that surrounds electrically charged particles such as electrons. In classical electromagnetism, the electric field of a single charge (or group of charges) descri ...

''E''). For example, an

electromagnetic field An electromagnetic field (also EM field) is a physical field, varying in space and time, that represents the electric and magnetic influences generated by and acting upon electric charges. The field at any point in space and time can be regarde ...

has both

electric field strength An electric field (sometimes called E-field) is a field (physics), physical field that surrounds electrically charged particles such as electrons. In classical electromagnetism, the electric field of a single charge (or group of charges) descri ...

and

magnetic field strength A magnetic field (sometimes called B-field) is a physical field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicula ...

. Field strength is a common term referring to a ''

'' quantity. However, the word 'strength' may lead to confusion as it might be referring only to the

magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...

of that vector. For both gravitational field strength and for electric field strength, The Institute of Physics glossary states "this glossary avoids that term because it might be confused with the magnitude of the ravitational or electricfield". As an application, in

radio frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the u ...

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

, the

signal strength In telecommunications, particularly in radio frequency engineering, signal strength is the transmitter power output as received by a reference antenna at a distance from the transmitting antenna. High-powered transmissions, such as those used i ...

excites a receiving antenna and thereby induces a voltage at a specific frequency and polarization in order to provide an input signal to a radio receiver.

Field strength meter In telecommunications, a field strength meter is an instrument that measures the electric field strength emanating from a transmitter. The relation between the electric field and the transmitted power In ideal free space, the electric field st ...

s are used for such applications as cellular, broadcasting, wi-fi and a wide variety of other radio-related applications.

References

Electromagnetism Physical quantities {{electromagnetism-stub

See also

References