Lesson 2

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 If you rub a hard rubber pen or
comb on a sheet of paper, the rubber will
attract a corner of the paper if it is free to
move easily. The paper and rubber then
give evidence of a static electric charge.
The work of rubbing resulted in separating
electrons and protons to produce a
charge of excess electrons on the surface
of the rubber and a charge of excess
protons on the paper.

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 Because paper and rubber are
dielectric materials, they hold their extra
electrons or protons. As a result, the paper
and rubber are no longer neutral, but
each has an electric charge. The resultant
electric charges provide the force of
attraction between the rubber and the
paper. This mechanical force of attraction
or repulsion between changes is the
fundamental method by which electricity
makes itself evident.

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 It is the insulating material or a very
poor conductor of electric current. When
dielectrics are placed in an electric field,
practically no current flows in them
because unlike metals, they have no
loosely bound, or free, electrons that may
drift through the material. Instead, electric
polarization occurs. (Britannica)

Dielectric BANCOROTLE102020
 Any charge is an
example of static electricity
because the electrons or
protons are not in motion.

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 Static electricity is a familiar
electric phenomenon on which
charged particles are transferred
from one body to another.
(Britannica)

Static Electricity BANCOROTLE102020

Static Electricity: Example 1
When you walk across a wool rug, your body becomes charged with
an excess of electrons. Similarly, silk, fur, and glass can be rubbed to
produce a static charge. This effect is more evident in dry weather,
because a moist dielectric does not hold its charge so well.

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Static Electricity: Example 2
Plastic materials can be charged easily, which is why thin,
lightweight plastics seem to stick to everything.

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 The charge of many billions of electrons or protons is
necessary for common applications of electricity. Therefore, it is
convenient to define a practical unit called the coulomb (C) as
equal to the charge of 6.25 × 1018 electrons or protons stored
in a dielectric. The analysis of static charges and their forces is
called electrostatics.

The Unit of Electric

Charge
Coulomb (C)

1 C (coulomb) 6.25 × 1018 e

or p BANCOROTLE102020
 The symbol for electric charge is Q or q, standing for
quantity. For instance, a charge of 6.25 × 1018 electrons1 is stated
as Q = 1 C. This unit is named after Charles A. Coulomb (1736-
1806), a French physicist, who measured the force between
charges.

The Symbol of Electric

Charge
Q or q
(quantity)
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Charles A. Coulomb BANCOROTLE102020
Negative and Positive
Polarities

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 Historically, the negative polarity has been assigned to the
static charge produced on rubber, amber, and resinous
materials in general. Positive polarity refers to the static charge
produced on glass and other vitreous materials. On this basis, the
electrons in all atoms are basic particles of negative charge
because their polarity is the same as the charge on rubber.
Protons have positive charge because the polarity is the same as
the charge on glass.

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Positive The pole with
fewer electron
Polarity

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Negative The pole with more
electrons
Polarity

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Charge of Opposite Polarity
Attract

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 If two small charged bodies of
light weight are mounted so that they
are free to move easily and are
placed close to each other, one can
be attracted to the other when the
two charges have opposite polarity. In
terms of electrons and protons, they
tend to be attracted to each other by
the force of attraction between
opposite charges. Furthermore, the
weight of an electron is only about
1/1840 the weight of a proton. As a
result, the force of attraction tends to
make electrons move to protons.
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Opposite charges attract BANCOROTLE102020
Charge of the Same Polarity
Repel

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 When the two bodies
have an equal amount of
charge with the same
polarity, they repel each
other.
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Two negative charges repel each other BANCOROTLE102020
Polarity of a Charge

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 An electric charge must have either negative or positive
polarity, labelled -Q or +Q, with an excess of either electrons or
protons. A neutral condition is considered zero charge. On this
basis, consider the following examples, remembering that the
electron is the basic particle of charge and the proton has
exactly the same amount, although of opposite polarity.

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Example 1
A neutral dielectric has added to it 12.5 × 1018
electrons. What is its charge in coulombs?

Answer:
This number of electrons is double the charge
of 1 C. Therefore, -Q = 2 C.

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Example 2
A dielectric has a positive charge of 12.5 × 1018
protons. What is its charge in coulombs?

Answer:
This is the same amount of charge as in
Example 1 but positive. Therefore, +Q = 2 C.

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 Note that we
generally consider the
electrons moving rather
than the heavier
protons. However, a loss
of a given number of
electrons is equivalent
to a gain of the same
number of protons.

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Charge of Electron

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 Fundamentally, the quantity of
any charge is measured by its force
of attraction or repulsion. The
extremely small force of an electron
or proton was measured by Millikan
in experiment done from 1908 to
1917. Very briefly, the method
consisted of measuring the charge
on vaporized droplets of oil, by
balancing the gravitational force
against an electrical force that
could be measured very precisely.
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 A small drop of oil sprayed from
an atomizer becomes charged by
friction. Furthermore, the charges
can be increased or decreased
slightly by radiation. These very small
changes in the amount of charge
were measured. The three smallest
values were 0.16 × 10-18 C, 0.32 × 10-
18 C, and 0.48 × 10-18 C. These values

are multiples of 0.16 × 10-18 C.

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 Therefore, we conclude that
0.16 × 10-18 C is the basic charge
from which all other values are
derived. This ultimate charge of 0.16
× 10-18 C is the charge of 1 electron
or 1 proton. Then,
1 electron or Q = 0.16 × 10-18 C
The reciprocal of 0.16 × 10-18 gives
the number if electrons or protons in
1 C. then,
1 C = 6.25 × 1018 electrons
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 Note that the factor 6.25 equals
exactly 1/0.16 and the1018 is the
reciprocal of 10-18 .

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Robert A. Millikan
(1868-1935)

An American
physicist. Millikan
received the Nobel
prize in physics for the
oil-drop experiment.

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Reference:

Bernard Grob, et.al.,Grob Basic

Electronics 7th Edition. McGraw-Hill Book
Company: 1993.

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