ELECTRO STATICS

 ELECTRO STATICS

electro statics

small summary of the topic

Electrostatics, as the name implies, is the study of stationary electric charges. A rod of plastic rubbed with fur or a rod of glass rubbed with silk will attract small pieces of paper and is said to be electrically charged. The charge on plastic rubbed with fur is defined as negative, and the charge on glass rubbed with silk is defined as positive. Electric charge Electrically charged objects have several important characteristics: Like charges repel one another; that is, positive repels positive and negative repels negative. Unlike charges attract each another; that is, positive attracts negative. Charge is conserved. A neutral object has no net charge. If the plastic rod and fur are initially neutral, when the rod becomes charged by the fur, a negative charge is transferred from the fur to the rod. The net negative charge on the rod is equal to the net positive charge on the fur. A conductor is a material through which electric charges can easily flow. An insulator is a material through which electric charges do not move easily, if at all. An electroscope is a simple device used to indicate the existence of charge. the electroscope consists of a conducting knob and attached lightweight conducting leaves—commonly made of gold foil or aluminum foil. When a charged object touches the knob, the like charges repel and force the leaves apart. The electroscope will indicate the presence of charge but does not directly indicate whether the charge is positive or negative.