Field trace

Okay, so imagine you're playing in the park and you want to find your way back home. You start walking, but you're not sure if you've been that way before or not. So, you decide to leave a trail of breadcrumbs as you walk. Now, if you get lost, you can follow the breadcrumbs back to where you started.

In a similar way, when scientists want to study how electric currents flow through some materials or devices, they use a technique called field tracing. They essentially leave a trail of breadcrumbs for the electric current to follow.

How do they do this? Well, they use a special tool called a field probe, which is like a tiny antenna that can detect the electric field around it. They move the field probe along the surface of the material or device they want to study, and as they do so, the probe detects the electric field at each point. This information is then recorded and used to create a map of the electric field lines, which are like the breadcrumbs of the trail.

Scientists can use this field map to understand how the electric currents flow through the material or device, and they can make adjustments to make it work better if needed. Just like how you can use the breadcrumbs to find your way back home, scientists can use the field trace to navigate the flow of electricity and make sure everything is running smoothly.