Electric charge Electricity isthe study of electric charge, of which there are two kinds: postive and negative Electric charge is a quantity that is conserved; lke total energy, electric charge cannot be created or destroyed. It is believed that the total charge of the universe is Zero" thete is exactly as much positive charge as there is negative. Another important Ploperty of electric charge is that itis quantized, which means the charge on a body is always an integral multiple of a basic unit. Basic investigations into the nature and interactions of electric charge were carted out in the 1780s by charles coulomb, who Aiscovered the law for the force between electric charges. Ingenious experiments in electrostatic induction and many other aspects of electricity were performed by Michael Faraday in the nineteenth century. Objectives By the end of this chapter you should be able to: * appreciate that there is a force between electric charges and that vector methods must be used to find the net force on a given charge: * describe the methods of charging by friction and electrostatic induction and outline their differences; * understand the use of the electroscope; * understand that charge resides on the outside surface of a conductor ~ the net charge inside a conductor is zero; * use the formula for the electric force between point charges (Coulomb's law) aa, Qa, Properties of electric charge ee age Negative charge resides on particles called ~ electrons (and on many others ~ but we will only deal with electrons here). Positive charge resides on protons (and others), which exist in the nuclei of atoms. Electrons are much lighter than nuclei and so it is much easier for electrons to move than nuclei. This means that in solid bodies the motion of electric charge is brought about by the motion of electrons, but in liquids and especially in gases positive ions can also transport charge. As we will see later, the electron carries the smallest unit of electrie charge. (Quarks, particles found in protons and neutrons, carry charges that are 1/3 or 2/3 of the electron charge. These particles cannot be observed as free particles so the electron can still be thought of as the carrier of the smallest unit of charge.) Electric charge is measured in ¢ unit called the coulomb (C), and the electron’s charge is (negative) 1.6 x 10-"" C. Materials can be classified into two large classes. The first Class is conductors, which are materials that5:1 Electric charge 281 ontain many free electrons inside them (free lectrons are those that do not belong to one aiticular atom), The second class is insulators, ‘hich do not have many such free electrons. his means that in an electric field (explained iter) the free electrons of a conductor will gin to move parallel to the electric field thereas no motion takes place in an insulator. his distinction between conductors and ‘silators is not completely clearcut. There also ist materials called semiconductors, which have termediate properties. 0) Two separated, identical conducting spheres are charged with charges of 4 C and —12 uC, ‘spectively. 1 the spheres are allowed to touch atid then separated again, what will be the charge ‘each sphere? Answer Thé net charge on the two spheres is ~8 C. Wrien the spheres are allowed to touch they will eal up with the same charge since they are ihtical. When they separate, each will therefore have a charge of —4 nC the electric force Simple experiments allow us to deduce that here is a force between electric charges. This is lheelectric force. The details of this force were liscovered by Coulomb and Henry Cavendish inate presented later in this chapter. For our purposes in this section it will be sufficient to now that the force is attractive between tharges of opposite sign and repulsive for ‘harges of similar sign. Charging by friction When a glass rod is rubbed with silk, it will develop a positive charge. This is because frictional forces between the silk and the glass remove electrons from the glass rod and deposit them on the silk. This method is called charging by friction. Charging by induction Suppose that a charged rod is brought near to, but does not touch, a conductor that rests on an insulating stand. Let us assume that the charge on the rod is negative. Then, electrons in the conductor nearest the charged rod will be repelled towards the other side of the conductor. This means that the side of the conductor nearest the rod will have a positive charge and the side furthest from it a negative charge. Note that since the conductor was originally electrically neutral, it remains so: the negative and positive charges on the sides of the conductor are equal. This is illustrated in Figure 1.1. Figure 1.1 A negatively charged rod brought near to an insulated conductor forces electrons in the conductor to the side furthest from the rod, Now imagine that, with the charged rod still nearby, you touch the conductor with your finger. What happens is that the electrons will flow to the earth through your body, leaving the conductor with a surplus of positive net charge (see Figure 1.2). If the charged rod is now removed, this positive charge will distribute itself on the surface of the conductor and we are left with a charged conductor. This method of charging is called electrostatic induction. We have induced charge on a body without actually touching that body with a charged object.282 Core - Electricity and magnetism electrons Figure 1.2 If the conductor is earthed, electrons from the conductor flow into the earth, leaving the conductor positively charged. ‘The induced charge in this case was positive, which is opposite to the charge of the charging body. ‘This is always the case. Suppose, for example, that the external charge was positive, Then electrons would move towards this external charge, leaving a positive charge behind. By touching the conductor, we allow electrons from the earth to move up to the conductor and neutralize this positive charge, leaving the conductor with a net negative charge. You may wonder what determines which way the electrons will move. (In our example here, electrons moved toward the earth the first time, and on to the body from the earth the second —2 2% Figure 1.3 A negatively charged rod brought near two touching conductors will induce equal and opposite charges when the conductors are separated (in the presence of the rod). foil ean move > + pass cage Figure 1.4 A negatively charged rod placed near the ball of the electroscope forces electrons from the ball down to the foil, causing it to diverge. time). Electrons always move in a di that will increase their potential. The concept of a potential is something we meet later and, when we do, this point wi be clarified. Here is another example of electrostatic induction. A charged body is brought n to two touching conducting spheres, each resting on insulating stands, as shown on the left of Figure 1:3. If the external charge is negative, then electrons in the left sphere will be pushed away, leaving a positive charge on the left sphere. If we now separate the two spheres, as on the right of Figure 1.3, we will find that left sphere has a net positive charge while right sphere has a net negative charge. Agai the amount of positive charge on one body equals the amount of negative charge on the other, as required by the law of conservation charge. The electroscope ‘The electroscope is a simple and useful device for investigating electrostatic properties. A. metallic rod with a ‘metallic sphere on the top end is inserted through a piece of plastic into a glass cage (the cage may also be conducting, in which case it is earthed). The lower end of the rod a strip of aluminium attached to it so it can move (in the original instruments a gold leit was used instead). Fi 14 illustrates how an electroscope is used. When an electric cha is placed near to (but touching) the ball, the foil diverges. Let us assume that the charge