How does the Electric field apply a force? How does a static electric field apply force to charges within its field? I understand that the source of electric fields are charged particles, and the reason charges will attract or repel each other (relative to their respective charges) is due to forces they experience from other electric fields but how does this happen if the field is ‘static’ and is just “there” around external charges? Is my understanding of a field wrong?
If its a static field theres no waves to interact with the charged particle within such field? Is there some other kind of ‘motion’ or ‘pulse’ in an electric field that would explain the force experienced? If someone would be able to illustrate this for me graphically somehow? I would greatly appreciate it, Im having a hard time seeing this visually. Thank you.
 A: This is a great question to the intuition - which unfortunately has no answer. Throughout history, physicists have tried to explain how forces can act "at a distance" in various ways, e.g. by imagining a so-called ether as a medium that fills space. But this concept was later abandoned, and the field concept, which I agree is not the most intuitive, has instead taken over.
But while the question is counterintuitive and non-explainable at the moment, it is not that hard to accept. Because... gravity. The fact that gravity pulls in us all and is exerted over a distance by every object with mass in every object with mass is just as weird and unexplainable. A gravitational field explains the spread of gravitational forces physically just like an electric or magnetic field explains the spread of electric or magnetic forces, respectively.
If you can accept gravity - which I'm sure you can simply because we are so used to it - then just use that same approach to accept electric fields.
You do not need "movement" or pulses of any sort in your electric field for it to exert electric force. The electric field strength at a point is simply defined as the electric force (per unit charge) that would be exerted if a charge was placed at this point. Just like the gravitational field strength is simply the gravitational force (per unit mass) that would be exerted if a mass was placed at the point.
