In physics, a
field is a physical quantity that has a value for each
point in space and time. For example, on a weather map, the surface wind
velocity is described by assigning a vector to each point on a map. Each vector represents the speed and direction of the movement of air at that point. As another example, an
electric field can be thought of as a "condition in space" emanating from an
electric charge and extending throughout the whole of space. When a
test electric charge is placed in this electric field, the particle accelerates due to a force. Physicists have found the notion of a field to be of such practical utility for the analysis of forces that they have come to think of a force as due to a field.