Week 1: Electric Charge

The history of electricity can be traced from the early Greeks who observed centuries ago that
certain types of materials would mysteriously attract one another after being rubbed together.
These are all static electricity events - events that can only be explained by an understanding of
the physics of electrostatics.
Electrostatic forces - both attractive and repulsive in nature - hold the world of atoms and
molecules together in perfect balance. Without this electric force, material things would not
exist. Atoms as the building blocks of matter depend upon these forces.
The electrons contained within the objects are prone to move or migrate to other objects.
Charged objects have an imbalance of charge - either more negative electrons than positive
protons or vice versa. And neutral objects have a balance of charge - equal numbers of protons
and electrons. The principle stated earlier for atoms can be applied to objects. Objects with
more electrons than protons are charged negatively; objects with fewer electrons than protons
are charged positively.
There are three processes by which a neutral body may be charged. These are charging by
friction, conduction and induction.
Charging by induction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL6Zb2pO9CA
Charging by Conduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqwm36hj46Q
Charging by Friction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfGaMdKXMks

Let’s Explore!

Having a background knowledge about electric charge, you are now ready to accomplish the
following interactives which will allow you to visualize the underlying concepts behind it.

Note: Make sure to finish the given interactives below before proceeding to our first quiz.
Enjoy!

1. Aluminum Can Polarization. Retrieved from https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-

Interactives/Static-Electricity/Aluminum-Can-Polarization

2. Charging. Retrieved from https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Static-

Electricity/Charging

3. Name that Charge. Retrieved from https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-

Interactives/Static-Electricity/Name-That-Charge