10/13/2020 Physics Project Report on Frictional Electricity, Positive and Negative Electricity, Insulators and Conductors, The Gold-Leaf

old-Leaf Electro…

System Design - Live

Mock Interview
Session Similar To
Actual Interviews &
Proper Feedback After
The Interview.
GeeksforGeeks

All Project Reports

ALL PROJECT REPORTS work for education

oject, Marketing Project, Free MBA Projects Writing, Thesis, Research Projects,
Home CBSE/OTHER MphilThesis
MBA contactus

My Whats App : +91-8398957646

My Email Id : [email protected]
Search your topic

15+ H O U R S B AT TERY LIFE MBA Project Report

Our Sitemap
Free Download MBA
Projects
Inspiron 7501 HR Project Report
Marketing Project
Report

Roll Over for Legal.

Finance Project
Report
Shop Now
Chemistry Project
Report
Physics Project
Report
Physics Project Report on Frictional Biology Project
Report
Electricity Science Project
Reports

Contents
1) Certificate
2) Acknowledgement
3) Introduction
4) Positive and Negative Electricity
5) Insulators and Conductors
6) The Gold-Leaf Electroscope

www.allprojectreports.com/CBSE-HBSE-School-Projects/Physics-Project-Report/Project-Report-on-Frictional-Electricity.htm 1/9
10/13/2020 Physics Project Report on Frictional Electricity, Positive and Negative Electricity, Insulators and Conductors, The Gold-Leaf Electro…

7) Experiments with a Hold Leaf Electroscope

8) Electrostatic Induction
9) The Electron Theory = Atomic Structure
10) Electrification by Friction
11) Electrons in Insulators and Conductors
12) Distribution of Charge over the Surface of a Conductor
13) No Charge on the Inside Surface of a Hollow Charged Conductor
14) Some Uses of Frictional Electricity
15) Bibliography

Certificate
This is to certify that the project report entitled "To Study Energy Bands in Solids" Related Project
submitted by Master Amit Singh is original and has been completed by him under Reports :
Physics Project on
my supervision and is completed in all respects for AISSCE.
Telescope
Signature of Faculty Head Physics Physics Project
Seebeck Effect
Physics Project
Rocket Propellants
Acknowledgement Physics Project on
As a student of Class XII, I did this project as a part of my studies entitled Transformer
Physics Project
Frictional Electricity.
Electromagnetic
I owe a deep sense of gratitude to my Physics teacher whose valuable guidance, Induction - EMI
advice, lovingly nature helped me in doing this project from conception to Project Heating Effect
completion. of Current
Project Energy Bands
I thank the Principal of our school for his ever lasting blessing and motivation.
in Solids
I am thankful to my computer teacher for providing me computer facilities. Project Extraction of
Finally, I am thankful to my parents for helping me economically and friends for Metals
giving me a helping at every step of the project. Physics Project
Torque Current
Theory
Signature of the Student

Introduction
Everyone is familiar with the fact that if a pen made of certain plastic materials is
rubbed on the coat-sleeve it will afterwards attract dust and small pieces of paper.
The same, effect if noticed when a mirror or window-pane is polished with a dry
cloth in a very dry atmosphere. Dust and fluff from the cloth stick to the glass and
are difficult to remove. Perspex, cellulose acetate and the vinyl compounds used for
gramophone records also show the attraction, but to a more marked degree. The
phenomenon is called electric attraction, and the rubbed materials are said to have
become charged with frictional electricity. Knowledge of it goes back as far as the
sixth century B.C., when the Greek Philosopher, Thales, described the attractive
properties of rubbed amber. The word electricity has, in fact, been derived from the
Greek word "elektron", meaning amber.

www.allprojectreports.com/CBSE-HBSE-School-Projects/Physics-Project-Report/Project-Report-on-Frictional-Electricity.htm 2/9
10/13/2020 Physics Project Report on Frictional Electricity, Positive and Negative Electricity, Insulators and Conductors, The Gold-Leaf Electro…

Friction between certain textiles can also produce electrification. Robert Symmer
first described this in the early eighteenth century.
Electrification by friction is sometimes associated with a crackling sound. This may
be heard when very dry hair is combed with a vulcanite comb, or when an ebonite
or alkathene rod is vigorously rubbed with fur. The cracking is caused by small
electric sparks, which may be seen if the room is in darkness. Sparks from frictional
electricity can be very dangerous when inflammable vapour is present. Nowadays,
accidents are prevented by allowing a short length of chain to trail from the metal
frame of the trolley. This conducts the electric charge away to earth, where it can do
no harm.

Positive and Negative Electricity

Electric repulsion was first described in 1672 by Otto von Guericke, who noticed
that some feathers were attracted to a charged sulphur ball and then repelled from it.
One hundred and fifty years later in France, Charles Du Fay discovered that
charged bodies did not always repel each other, but that sometimes attraction took
place. He came to the conclusion that there were two kinds of electricity. Charges of
the same kind repel, while charges of opposite kinds attract one another.
To distinguish between the two kinds, Du Fay used the terms vitreous and resinous
electricity. Vitreous (from the Latin vitrum = glass) electricity is obtained when
glass is rubbed with silk, and resinous electricity is obtained when amber, sealing-
wax, sulphur, shellac, and a host of other substances are rubbed with fur or flannel.
Later on, these terms were found to be misleading, since, for example, ground glass
gives resinous electricity and very highly polished ebonite gives vitreous electricity.
Accordingly, Benjamin Franklin introduced the present day terms positive and
negative instead of vitreous and resinous respectively.

Insulators and Conductors

When current electricity was discovered, 200 years after the publication of Gilbert’s
book, it was found that an electric current would flow through a non electric but not
through an electric. Accordingly, these terms became obsolete. We now call an
electric an insulator and a non-electric a conductor.
Gilbert mentions the importance of dryness an electrical experiments. Impure water
is a conductor, and a film of moisture from condensation or moist hands on the
surface of an insulator allows electricity to be conducted away to earth. For
successful results, all apparatus used in electrical experiments must be thoroughly
dry. Glass rods in particular are best warmed before use.
The Gold-Leaf Electroscope
For the detection and testing of small electric charges, a gold-leaf electroscope is
used. This instrument was invented towards the end of the eighteenth century by a
Yorkshire clergyman named Abraham Bennet. Fig. shows a common type of
electroscope. It consists of a brass rod surmounted by a brass disc or cap and having
at its lower end a small rectangular brass plate with a leaf of thin gold or aluminium

www.allprojectreports.com/CBSE-HBSE-School-Projects/Physics-Project-Report/Project-Report-on-Frictional-Electricity.htm 3/9
10/13/2020 Physics Project Report on Frictional Electricity, Positive and Negative Electricity, Insulators and Conductors, The Gold-Leaf Electro…

attached. The leaf is protected from draughts by enclosing it in an earthed metal

case with glass windows. The brass rod is supported by passing it through a plug of
some good insulating material such as alkathene at the top of the case.

The three horizontal parallel lines shown at E in fig. is the conventional symbol for
an earth connection.

Experiments with a Gold Leaf Electroscope

(1) To detect the presence of charge on a body
If a rod of some suitable material is charged by friction and then brought near to the
cap of a gold leaf electroscope the leaf is seen to diverge from the plate. A charge
has been induced on the leaf and plate, and consequently repulsion occurs between
them. On removing the charged rod, the leaf collapses, showing that the induced
charge on the electroscope is only temporary.
Very small charges may be detected by this method.
(2) To Charge a gold-leaf electroscope by contact
An ebonite rod is given a small charge by rubbing with fur, and is then rolled over
the cap of an electroscope. The leaf will be seen to diverge, and then the rod is
removed. If the leaf does not stay diverged the process is repeated until it does. We
may now assume that the electroscope is charged with negative electricity by
conduction from the ebonite rod.
If the cap of the electroscope is touched with the finger the charge flows to earth
through the experimenter’s body and the leaf collapses. This is called "earthing the
electroscope".
(3) To test for the sign of the charge on a body
Having charged the electroscope negatively, the ebonite rod should be recharged
and brought near to the cap. An increase in the leaf divergence is noted.
A glass road rubbed with silk (positive charge) is now cautiously brought down
towards the cap from a height of about 50 cm. This time, a decrease in divergence is
noticed.

www.allprojectreports.com/CBSE-HBSE-School-Projects/Physics-Project-Report/Project-Report-on-Frictional-Electricity.htm 4/9
10/13/2020 Physics Project Report on Frictional Electricity, Positive and Negative Electricity, Insulators and Conductors, The Gold-Leaf Electro…

The electroscope is discharged by touching it with the finger and afterwards

charged positively by contact, using a glass rod rubbed with silk. We shall now find
that an increased divergence is caused by bringing a charged glass rod near the cap
decreased divergence by a charged ebonite rod.
From these experiments we conclude that an increase in divergence occurs when
the charge on the electroscope and the test charge are of the same kind.
The results of these experiments are summarized in the table :
Charge on Charge brought Effect on leaf
Electroscope Near cap divergence
+ + Increase
- - Increase
+ - Decrease
- + Decrease
+ or - Uncharged body Decrease
(4) To test the insulating properties of various materials
The insulating or, conversely, the conducting property of a given substance may be
tested by holding a sample of the substance in the hand and then bringing it into
contact with the cap of a charged electroscope. If the substance is a good insulator
there will be no leakage of charge through it and the leaf divergence will not alter.
If, however, the leaf collapses instantly it shows that the substance is a good
conductor.

Electrostatic Induction
We saw earlier that a charged rod brought near to the cap of an electroscope causes
the leaf to diverge from the plate, showing that a charge has been induced on both
of them. The following experiment provides more information about the charges
which are induced on an insulated conductor when a charged rod is brought near it.
(a) Two insulated brass spheres A and B are placed together so that they touch one
another and thus form, in effect, a single conductor.
(b) A negatively charged rod is now brought near to A. As a result, a positive
charge is induced on A and a negative charge on B.
(c) Still keeping the charged rod in position, sphere B is moved a short distance
from A.
(d) The charged rod is now removed and A and B are tested for charge.

www.allprojectreports.com/CBSE-HBSE-School-Projects/Physics-Project-Report/Project-Report-on-Frictional-Electricity.htm 5/9
10/13/2020 Physics Project Report on Frictional Electricity, Positive and Negative Electricity, Insulators and Conductors, The Gold-Leaf Electro…

The test is carried out as follows. Sphere A is brought near to the cap of a positively
charged electroscope. An increase in divergence shows that it is positively charged.
Similarly, sphere B produces an increase in divergence when it is brought near to
the cap of a negatively charged electroscope, thus showing it to be negatively
charged.
In the whole experiment is carried out again using a positively charged rod as the
inducing charge, the induced charges on A and B are reversed.

The Electron Theory Atomic Structure

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Sir J.J.Thomson carried out some
experiments with an electric discharge through a tube containing air at very low
pressure. Following this investigation he came to the conclusion that negative
electricity consists of tiny particles which came to be called electrons. During the
succeeding years it became apparent that these negative electrons actually formed
part of the atoms of which all substances are composed.

Electrification by Friction
When a glass rod is rubbed with a silk cloth some electrons from the glass attach
themselves to the silk. Consequently, the glass becomes positively charged and the
silk negatively charged. Likewise when ebonite is rubbed with fur electrons are
transferred from fur to ebonite, thus making the ebonite negative and the fur
positive.

www.allprojectreports.com/CBSE-HBSE-School-Projects/Physics-Project-Report/Project-Report-on-Frictional-Electricity.htm 6/9
10/13/2020 Physics Project Report on Frictional Electricity, Positive and Negative Electricity, Insulators and Conductors, The Gold-Leaf Electro…

Electrons in Insulators and Conductors

The difference between an insulator and a conductor is that, in an insulator, the
electrons are firmly bound to their atoms and will not move of their own accord,
whereas in a conductor the electrons are able to move freely from one atom to
another.
If an ebonite rod is held in the hand and rubbed with fur a charge of electrons is
formed on its surface. These electrons cannot flow to earth through the hand, since
they are unable to move through the insulating ebonite. When a brass rod is rubbed
with fur it becomes charged with electrons in just the same way as the ebonite.
However, the charge cannot be detected, since it is immediately conducted through
the brass and the hand to earth. This may be prevented by mounting the brass rod
on an insulating handle. The charge cannot now be conducted away, and its
presence can be detected by bringing the rod near a gold-leaf electroscope. The
charge can be tested and found to be negative by showing that there is no increase
in divergence when the brass rod is brought near to the cap of a negatively charged
electroscope.

Distribution of Charge Over the Surface

of a Conductor
A proof plane and gold-leaf electroscope may be used to investigate the distribution
of charge over the surface of a conductor, by pressing the proof plane into contact
with the surface at various places in turn and then transferring the charge to the
electroscope. The divergence of the leaf will give a rough measure of the amount of
charge transferred, and hence some idea of the surface density of the charge.
Surface density is defined as the quantity of charge per unit area of surface of a
conductor.

www.allprojectreports.com/CBSE-HBSE-School-Projects/Physics-Project-Report/Project-Report-on-Frictional-Electricity.htm 7/9
10/13/2020 Physics Project Report on Frictional Electricity, Positive and Negative Electricity, Insulators and Conductors, The Gold-Leaf Electro…

Fig. also shows how charge is distributed over the surface of conductors of different
shapes. In these diagrams the distance of the dotted line from the surface is
proportional to the surface density at any point. The most important fact shown by
this experiment is that charge is mostly concentrated at places where the surface is
sharply curved. This is particularly noticeable at the pointed end of the pear-shaped
conductor.
No charge on the Inside Surface of a Hollow Charged Conductor
The electric conductors used in the experiments we have described are generally
made of hollow brass or else of wood covered with tinfoil. No advantage is to be
gained by making them of solid metal, since the charge resides only on the outside
surface. The following experiment illustrate this fact.
Charles Coulomb demonstrated that charge always resides on the outside surface of
a conductor with the aid of two hemispherical cups which fitted exactly round an
insulated metal sphere.
The sphere first charged, and afterwards the hemispheres are fitted over it while
being held by insulating handles. On removing the hemispheres they are found to
be charged, but no charge at all remains on the sphere. This shows that all the
charge on the sphere must have passed to the outside of the hemispheres.

Some Uses of Frictional Electricity

1. Photocopying machines or zerox machines
Based on the attraction of powdered particles to a metal drum that carries a pattern
of charge that is same as the pattern of the desired image.
2. Paint Droplets become charged by friction

www.allprojectreports.com/CBSE-HBSE-School-Projects/Physics-Project-Report/Project-Report-on-Frictional-Electricity.htm 8/9
10/13/2020 Physics Project Report on Frictional Electricity, Positive and Negative Electricity, Insulators and Conductors, The Gold-Leaf Electro…

When they are sprayed. If the object to be painted such as a car body, is given a
charge of opposite sign the paint is attracted to the object & covers it without
wastage.

Bibliography
1. Modern’s abc of physics.
2. Pradeep Fundamental Physics.
3. Dinesh A to Z of Physics.
4. Comprehensive Physics.
5. Neelam’s Physics
6. Comprehensive Practical Physics.
7. N.C.E.R.T. Physics.
8. www.google.com, www.yahoo.com

Chemistry Projects

Biology Projects

Physics Projects

     

HOME CONTACT US

BLOG NEWS GALLERY

www.allprojectreports.com/CBSE-HBSE-School-Projects/Physics-Project-Report/Project-Report-on-Frictional-Electricity.htm 9/9