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BAL BHARATI PUBLIC SCHOOL

NISHATPURA BHOPAL

PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

CHARGE INDUCED ON TWO STYROFOAM BALLS

SUBMITTED TO:
K VASEEMUL RAHAMAN
SUBMITTED BY:
TEJASWI KUMAR
R OLL NO:
1229
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S ESSION 2023-2024

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to Mr. K Vaseemul Rahaman Sir

for his tremendous support and assistance in the completion of my project.

I would also like to thank our Principal Mr. Kuldeep Singh Sir,

for providing me with this wonderful opportunity to work on a project with the

topic Charge Induced On Two Styrofoam Balls

The completion of the project would not have been possible without their help

and insights.
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CERTIFICATE

This is to Certify that TEJASWI KUMAR of class XII "A' of BAL BHARATI

PUBLIC SCHOOL has successfully completed the Physics Investigatory

project on the topic “CHARGE INDUCED ON TWO STYROFOAM

BALLS” as prescribed by the CBSE Board for the Academic Year 2023-2024.

It is further certified that the project is Individual Work of the Candidate.

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INDEX

SR NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

1 INTRODUCTION 5

2 AIM 6

3 THEORY 7

4 APPARATUS 11

5 PROCEDURE 12

6 OBSERVATION 13

7 RESULT 14

8 BIBLIOGRAPHY 15
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INTRODUCTION

When it is only of interest to know the magnitude of the electrostatic force (and

not its direction), it may be easiest to consider a scalar version of the law. The

scalar form of the Coulomb’s Law relates the magnitude and sign of the

electrostatic force F acting simultaneously on two points charges q1 and q2 as

follows:

where r is the separation distance and Ke is Coulomb’s constant. If the product

q1q2 is positive, the force between the two charges is repulsive; if the product is

negative, the force between them is attractive

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AIM

To estimate the charge induced on each one of the two identical Styrofoam balls

(or pith balls) suspended in a vertical plane by making use of Coulomb’s law:
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THEORY

The fundamental concept in electrostatics is electrical charge. We are all

familiar with the fact that rubbing two materials together - for example, a rubber

comb on cat fur - produces a “static” charge. This process is called charging by

friction. The charged particles which make up the universe come in three kinds:

positive, negative, and neutral. Neutral particles do not interact with electrical

forces. Charged particles exert electrical and magnetic forces on one another,

but if the charges are stationary, the mutual force is very simple in form and is

given by Coulomb’s Law:

where F is the electrical force between any two stationary charged particles with

charges q1 and q2(measured in coulombs), r is the separation between the

charges (measured in meters), and k is a constant of nature (equal to 9x109

Nm2/C2 in SI units)
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The study of the Coulomb forces among arrangements of stationary charged

particles is called electrostatics. Coulomb’s Law describes three properties of

the electrical force:

1)The force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the

charges, and is directed along the straight line that connects their centres.

2)The force is proportional to the product of the magnitude of the charges.

3)Two particles of the same charge exert a repulsive force on each other, and

two particles of opposite charge exert an attractive force on each other.

Materials such as metals are conductors. Each metal atom contributes one or

two electrons that can move relatively freely through the material. A conductor

will carry an electrical current. Other materials such as glass are insulators.

Their electrons are bound tightly and cannot move. Charge sticks on an

insulator, but does not move freely through it.

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A neutral particle is not affected by electrical forces. Nevertheless, a charged

object will attract a neutral macroscopic object by the process of electrical

polarisation. For example, if a negatively charged rod is brought close to an

isolated, neutral insulator, the electrons in the atoms of the insulator will be

pushed slightly away from the negative rod, and the positive nuclei will be

attracted slightly toward the negative rod. We say that the rod has induced

polarisation in the insulator, but its net charge is still zero. The polarisation of

charge in the insulator is small, but now its positive charge is a bit closer to the

negative rod, and its negative charge is a bit farther away. Thus, the positive

charge is attracted to the rod more strongly than the negative charge is repelled,

and there is an overall net attraction. If the negative rod is brought near an

isolated, neutral conductor, the conductor will also be polarised. In the

conductor, electrons are free to move through the material, and some of them

are repelled over to the opposite surface of the conductor, leaving the surface

near the negative rod with a net positive charge. The conductor has been

polarised, and will now be attracted to the charged rod. Now if we connect a

conducting wire or any other conducting material from the polarised conductor
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to the ground, we provide a “path” through which the electrons can move.

Electrons will actually move along this path to the ground. If the wire or path is

subsequently disconnected, the conductor as a whole is left with a net positive

charge. The conductor has been charged without actually being touched with the

charged rod, and its charge is opposite that of the rod. This procedure is called

charging by induction.
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APPARATUS REQUIRED

• Small size identical balls (pitch or soft plastic)

• Physical balance or electrical balance

• Half meter Scale

• Cotton thread

• Small stand

• Glass rod

• Silk cloth
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PROCEDURE

1. Measure the mass (m) of each of the two identical pith balls using a physical

balance.

2. Hang the two balls from a rigid support using light silk or cotton threads of

same length ‘l’.

3. Rub the glass tod silk cloth to induce charge on it. Now touch the glass rod

with both the pith balls together so that equal charge is induced on both the

balls.

4. When left freely, the two balls will repel each other. Measure the distance

between the balls when are at rest. Note down the distance.

5. To change the charge on ball, take third uncharged ball touch it to any one of

the two balls and take the third ball away, and repeat step 4.

6. Take other uncharged suspended with other uncharged 4th ball and take the

4th ball away and repeat step 4

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OBSERVATIONS

Mass of the pith balls m= 200 gm.

Radius of the ball a = 0.2 cm.

Length of thread l = 100 cm

S.No Charge on Ball Charge on ball Distance between

B1 B2 the two balls

(in µC) (in µC) (in cm)

1 0.00 µC 0.00 µC 0.4 cm

2 2.00 µC 2.00 µC 33.0 cm

3 2.00 µC 1.00 µC 26.2 cm

4 2.00 µC 1.00 µC 20.8 cm

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RESULT
Let the force between two stationary charges be F.

The weight of the ball= w = mg

The restoring force on each ball = mg Sinθ .

From the diagram in the right in triangle ABC= Sinθ = x/2l

Let the charge on each ball be q1, q2 and q3 then at equilibrium= mg Sinθ

= (kq×q )/x2

Charge on the pith ball = √((mgr3)/2kl

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

• Manual of Secondary Science Kit for Classes X and XII - Published by

NCERT

• Physics NCERT Book

Websites

• iCBSE.com

• Wikipedia

• Chemmicalland.com

• Books.google.co.in