What is the permittivity of free space?

Imagine a positive charge placed in free space, you know that all its lines of force are directed outward with equal solid angle between them. But if we place a material through which electric field lines pass more easily than through free space, then its permittivity is more compared to free space and consequently more electric lines of force will pass through it. This property varies with variation of medium; for example let us imagine you were told to swim in an extremely dense liquid and then you were given a choice to swim in water, what would you choose? Simple, you would say water, as it was more easy to swim in, same way space is more appropriate than some mediums and less than some with respect to allowing electric field lines to pass through it, as a result we can conclude that it is a number which describes the ability of a medium to allow electric lines of force to pass through it.

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