High voltage transmission line electric field example:
High voltage long distance "bulk" transmission lines are 230,000 or 500,000 volts. We have an off-leash dog park near us that is under 500 KV lines and you can't use a metal chain leash otherwise you get zapped. Transmission lines are about 200' above the ground and there is a voltage gradient (non-linear) between the lines and the ground. You can take a voltmeter, stick one probe in the ground and hold the other in the air and get quite a reading. These lines are 3-phase lines and EMF is cancelled out and there is an electric field present.
Our poco, BC Hydro, has a good brief explanation of electric vs magnetic fields
here and
here. In everyday 120 & 240 volt systems we are exposed to, effects from electric fields are insignificant and not an issue. In a career as an EE in building systems, I never once heard of electric fields being an issue or even being discussed.
BTW, whatever happened to brain cancer paranoia from 1990s era cellphones with extending antennas held against your ear?
