Which component is used to store electrical energy in an electric field?

The component used to store electrical energy in an electric field is the capacitor. Capacitors are designed to accumulate and store electrical charge when voltage is applied across their terminals. When a capacitor is charged, it creates an electric field between its plates, and this stored energy can be released back into the circuit when needed. This ability to store and release energy is essential in various applications, such as smoothing out voltage fluctuations in power supplies, filtering signals in electronic circuits, and providing timing characteristics in oscillator circuits.

In contrast, a resistor is used primarily to limit the flow of current in a circuit and dissipates energy as heat rather than storing it. An inductor, while it does store energy, does so in a magnetic field instead of an electric field, which distinguishes it from a capacitor. A transformer is a device used to transfer electrical energy between two or more circuits through electromagnetic induction, and it does not store energy in the sense that capacitors do. Hence, the capacitor is the correct answer for its role in storing electrical energy in an electric field.