Electric Potential
Electric potential turns the electric interaction into an energy landscape. Voltage compares two points on that landscape; the electric field points toward the steepest decrease in potential.
Can we describe an electric interaction without drawing a force arrow everywhere?
Yes. Potential assigns a scalar value to each point. A charged particle's potential energy depends on both that landscape and the particle's charge.
Potential depends on the source. Potential energy also depends on the test charge.
Move through the landscape and watch potential, field, and energy stay connected.
At a point, V is one number. You do not need a direction until you take the spatial slope and recover the electric field.
In one dimension, E = -dV/dx. Stronger spatial change in potential means a stronger electric field.
A voltmeter compares two points. The physically useful quantity in circuits is usually ΔV, not an absolute potential value.
A positive test charge lowers its electric potential energy by moving toward lower electric potential.
Because U = qV, a negative charge has lower potential energy where V is larger.
Moving along an equipotential changes no electric potential, so the electric field has no component along that path.