Electric Charge|Coulomb's Law

Electric Fields|Electric Flux

Electrostatics
• Electric charges at rest (static
electricity)

• Involves electric charges, the forces

between them, and their behavior in
materials
Atom is the building block of matter. Nucleus is the positively-charged center of an atom consisting
of Proton (+) and Neutron (n) while Electron (-) is orbiting around.
 Charge
• In an atom, a positively charged nucleus
is surrounded by electrons
• The protons (+) in the nucleus attract
the electrons (-), while the electrons
repel each other
• This attraction and repulsion behavior
gives an object its charge
 ELECTRIC CHARGE

Positive charge is a shortage of electrons.

Negative charge is an excess of electrons.

Conservation of charge: “The net charge of a closed

system remains constant.”
Electric charge determines the electric and magnetic interaction between subatomic particles. Law
of Charges: “Like charges repel, unlike charges attract.”
 NET CHARGE

A neutral atom contains equal number of protons and electrons. Imbalance number of these two is
called ion: Cation (more proton) Anion (more electron).
 ELECTRIC FORCES

Like Charges - Repel

F F
+ +
Unlike Charges - Attract
F F
- +
 Ions
• If the total positive charge balances the total
negative charge, the atom is neutral
• Positive Ion: Has lost one or more
electrons and has a net positive charge
• Negative Ion: Has gained one or more
electrons and has a net negative charge
Removal of Electrons
• The inner electrons are bound very tightly to
the atom
• The outermost electrons of many atoms are
bound loosely and can be easily dislodged
 Conductors and
Insulators
• Conductor: Materials which allow electric
charge to flow freely
• Metals are good conductors because
their outer electrons are not bound
tightly
• Insulator: Materials which do not allow
electric charge to flow freely (i.e. glass,
 Conductors and
Insulators
• Semiconductor: Materials that can be
made to behave as either a conductor or an
insulator of electricity
• i.e.) germanium, silicon
• Superconductor: Material that has infinite
conductivity at low temperatures so that
charge flows through it without resistance
Conservation of Charge
Electrons are never created nor
destroyed, but are simply transferred
from one material to another
• No case of the creation or destruction of net
electric charge has ever been found
• Electrons are always transferred in whole –
they cannot be divided into fractions of
electrons
Recall
FUNDAMENTAL CHARGE (Coulomb)

e = 1.6 x 10-19 C
 CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
1. Using your understanding of the three subatomic
particles, what is an electric charge?

2. With respect to the presence of charged particles, how

does a body become…
a. Positively charged?
b. Negatively charged?
 COMPUTE YOUR UNDERSTANDING
1. 5 electrons and 6 protons
+1
2. 14 protons and 11 electrons
+3
3. 5 electrons and 5 protons
0
4. 25 protons and 26 electrons
-1
 STICKY TAPES MYSTERY

1. Place a piece of scotch tape on the table and label it X.

2. Place another piece of scotch tape on the top of the first tape and label it Y.

3. Peel the two pieces of scotch tape off the table.

4. Peel them apart and place on the edge of the table.

5. Place the tape X and Y near bits of paper.

6. Place the tape X and Y near each other.
 2 Main Types of Charging Processes

1. Charging by contact
a. Friction (rubbing)
b. Conduction
2. Charging by induction
 CHARGING BY RUBBING

The nuclei of their atoms pull their electrons with different strengths resulting in the ripping off of
electrons from the body with a weaker electron hold.
 CHARGING BY RUBBING

Charging by rubbing explains why we experience a weak electric shock when we suddenly touch a
metallic object after walking on a carpeted floor.
 CHARGING BY RUBBING

1. Dry hand 6. Wool 11. Rubber

2. Leather 7. Fur 12. Polyester
3. Glass 8. Silk 13. Styrofoam
4. Human hair 9. Wood 14.
Polyurethane
5. Nylon 10. Amber 15. PVC
Triboelectric series is a list of common materials that experimented to behave in predictable way;
those appear first tend to lose electrons, making them positive.
 SOLVE THE PROBLEMS
1. The human hair is combed using a rubber comb. What charge
is acquired by the hair and by the comb?

2. When a glass rod is rubbed with a silk cloth, did the glass rod
gain or lose electrons?

3. The lenses of the eyeglasses are being cleaned using a nylon

cloth. In doing so, which becomes positively or negatively
charged?
 CHARGING BY CONDUCTION

Conduction means bringing body A in direct contact with body B. The sign of the charge acquired
by the neutral body is the same with that of the charged body.
 CHARGING BY CONDUCTION

Conduction means bringing body A in direct contact with body B. A neutral body becomes negatively charged when charged
by a negatively charged body.
 CHARGING BY INDUCTION

Induction means bringing body A near or indirectly to body B. The negative charges on the neutral
body are attracted toward the positively charged body.
 CHARGING BY INDUCTION

Grounding means a conducting wire is run from the sphere to the ground.
 Grounding
is the process of removing the excess charge on an object by
means of the transfer of electrons between it and another object
of substantial size.

When a charged object is grounded, the excess charge is

balanced by the transfer of electrons between the charged
object and a ground
 CONSERVATION OF CHARGE

“The total charge of an isolated system remains

constant.”

Note: Charges can neither be created nor destroyed, they just

merely transferred from one body to another.
 In Summary. . .
Objects are electrically charged in one of
three ways:
•By friction, when electrons are rubbed from
one object to another
•By contact, when electrons are transferred
through direct contact without rubbing
•Through induction when electrons are
gathered or dispersed by the presence of a
nearby charge (without physical contact)
 SAMPLE PROBLEM

Metal sphere A has a charge of +6.0 C. It is brought in

contact with a neutral metal sphere B and then separated.
Find the final charges on spheres A and B.
 COULOMB’S LAW

The magnitude of the electrostatic force of attraction or

repulsion between two point charges is directly proportional
to the product of the magnitudes of charges and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between them.

q1q2
F k 2
r
 COULOMB’S LAW

q1q2 Inverse Square

F k 2
r Law

k = Coulomb’s constant = 9.0x109 Nm2/C2

q1 = charge on mass 1
q2 = charge on mass 2
r = the distance between the two charges
•   Ke=
  is known as the permittivity of free space which has a value:
Where

 
= 8.8542x10-12 C2/Nm2
 COULOMB’S LAW #1
Two charges are separated by a distance r and have a force F on
each other.

F F
q1 q2
r
If r is doubled then Fnew is : ¼ of Fold
If q1 is doubled then Fnew is : 2Fold

If q1 and q2 are doubled and r is halved then Fnew is : 16Fold

 COULOMB’S LAW #2

Two identically charged one-peso coins are 1.5 m apart on a

table. What is the charge of one coin if each of them
experiences a repulsive force of 2 N?

Answer: 2.24x10-5 C
 COULOMB’S LAW #3

Compute for the electrostatic force when there are

three charges on a straight line.

What is the total electrostatic force on Q3?

ANS: -3.38N
 COULOMB’S LAW #4

What is the total electrostatic force on Q3?

ANS: F = 7.00x10-7N to the east
 FORMATIVE
Three charged objects are placed as shown. Find the net force on
the object with the charge of -4μC.
- 5μC
45º

20cm

F1 45º - 4μC
5μC
20cm F2

F1 and F2 must be added together as vectors.

 ELECTRIC FIELD AND ITS REPRESENTATION

Electric field is the area where the electrostatic force can be

experienced.
 Field Lines
• Electric Fields have a magnitude and
direction
• Vector Quantities
• Lines go away from positive
• Lines go toward negative
 Drawing Field Lines
•From + to –

•Lines start
perpendicular to the
surface of the charge

•Field strength is
shown by the density
of the field lines.

•No two fields cross.

Compare the
following.
 ELECTRIC FIELD AND ITS REPRESENTATION

Test charge is a single charge whose behavior is measured by

external stimuli.
Electric Field
 ELECTRIC FIELD PROBLEM #1

Calculate the electric field strength that a test charge will

experience on the following distances from the source charge
of 5.02X10-13 C.

a. 2.0 m a. 1.13*10-3 N/C

b. 0.2 m b. 1.13*10-1 N/C

 ELECTRIC FIELD PROBLEM #2

A water droplet of mass 3.00x10-12 kg is located in the air near the ground
during a stormy day. An atmospheric electric field of magnitude 6.00x10 3
N/C points vertically downward in the vicinity of the water droplet. The
droplet remains suspended at ret in the air. What is the electric charge on
the droplet?

q = -4.90x10-15 C
 Formative:
1. At what distance from a negative charge of  5.536 nC would the
      electric field strength be 1.90 x 105 N/C ? (ANS: d = 1.6 cm)

2. Compute the electric field experienced by a test charge 0.80µC

from a source charge 15µC in a vacuum when the test charge is
placed 0.20 m away from the source. (ANS: 3.4X106 N/C)