Electrostatics

Electrostatics
Electric charges at rest
(static electricity)

Involves electric charges, the

forces between them, and their
behavior in materials
 CHARGE
In Physics, charge, also known as electric charge,
electrical charge, or electrostatic charge and
symbolized by q, is a characteristic of a unit
of matter that expresses the extent to which it has
more or fewer electrons than protons.

In atoms, the electron carries a negative

elementary or unit charge; the proton carries a
positive charge, these two types of charge are equal
and opposite.
 IONS
• If the total positive charge balances the total
negative charge, the atom is neutral.

• If a particle is removed from the atom, it

becomes an ion.
• 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.
Static electricity is the result of an imbalance of charge in materials.
Since all materials are made up of atoms, it is important to understand
how the positive and negative charges in the atom produce this imbalance
of charge in objects.
 Properties of Electric Charges
• There are 2 kinds of electric charge: positive (+) and negative (–)
– Carrier of positive charge in matter is the proton
(charge = +e)
– Carrier of negative charge in matter is the electron
(charge = –e)
– e = 1.602  10–19 C (typical “shock” experienced on a dry day
transfers about 1  10–9 C)

• An object becomes electrically charged through transfer of negative

charge (movement of electrons)
– Protons don’t move because they are tightly bound to atomic nuclei
– Charge is conserved
– Neutral objects have equal amounts of + and – charge
 The Nature of Electric Charge
Discovery of charge
The Greeks first noticed electric charged by rubbing
amber with fur, then picking up bits of matter. The Greek
word for amber is elektron.
Benjamin Franklin arbitrarily called the two
kinds of charge positive and negative. In most
cases, only the negative charge is mobile.
Properties of charge
Like charges repel, and unlike charges
attract.
Charge is conserved, meaning it cannot be
created or destroyed, only transferred from
one location to another.
In all atoms, electrons (qe) have negative charge
and protons (qp) have positive charge.
Charge is quantized, meaning it comes in
discrete amounts (like money).
 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.
 Insulators and Conductors
Insulators
In insulators, electrons are bound in
“orbit” to the nucleus in each atom.
When charge is placed on an insulator, it
stays in one region and does not distribute.
Wood, plastic, glass, air, and cloth
are good insulators.
CHARGED INSULATOR
Conductors
In conductors electrons can move from
atom to atom, thus electricity can “flow”.
When charge is placed on a conductor, it
redistributes to the outer surface.
Metals (copper, gold, and aluminum)
are good conductors.
CHARGED CONDUCTOR
•Semiconductor:
Materials that can be made to behave as either a
conductor or an insulator of electricity.

Examples: germanium, silicon

•Superconductor:
Material that has infinite conductivity at low
temperatures so that charge flows through it
without resistance.
 DISCOVERY OF SUPERCONDUCTORS
The phenomenon of superconductivity, in which the electrical
resistance of certain materials completely vanishes at low
temperatures, is one of the most interesting and
sophisticated in condensed matter physics. It was first
discovered by the Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes,
who was the first to liquefy helium (which boils at 4.2 Kelvin
at standard pressure).

In 1911, Kamerlingh Onnes and one of his assistants

discovered the phenomenon of superconductivity while
studying the resistance of metals at low temperatures. They
studied mercury because very pure samples could easily be
prepared by distillation.
METHODS
OF
CHARGING
 Charging by Friction
POSITIVE
Rabbit's fur When insulators are rubbed together, one
Glass gives up electrons and becomes positively
Mica charged, while the other gains electrons
Nylon and becomes negatively charged.
Wool
Cat's fur Materials have different affinities for
Silk electrons. A triboelectric series rates this
Paper relative affinity.
Cotton
Wood
A material will give up electrons to
Lucite
another material below it on a
Wax
triboelectric series.
Amber
Polystyrene
Common examples of charging by friction:
Polyethylene
• small shocks from a doorknob after walking
Rubber ballon on carpet with rubber-soled shoes
Sulfur
• plastic foodwrap that sticks to a container
Celluloid
Hard Rubber • sweater pulled over your head that sparks
Vinylite • laundry from the dryer that clings
Saran Wrap • balloon rubbed with hair sticks that to a wall
NEGATIVE
 TRIBOELECTRIC SERIES
Materials possess various tendencies to acquire or lose electrons; the
ordering of these tendencies is referred to as the triboelectric series.
Triboelectricity means electric charge generated by friction. It comes
from the Greek word “tribos”, which means rubbing.
 Charging by Conduction
When a charged conductor makes contact with a neutral conductor there is a
transfer of charge.
CHARGING NEGATIVELY CHARGING POSITIVELY

Electrons are transferred from Electrons are transferred from

the rod to the ball, leaving them the ball to the rod, leaving
both negatively charged. them both positively charged.

Remember, only electrons are free to move in solids.

Notice that the original charged object loses some charge.
 Charging by Induction
Induction uses the influence of one charged object to push charge
flow.

Step 1. A charged rod is brought Step 2. The conductor is grounded

near an isolated conductor. The to the Earth, allowing charge to
influence of the charge object flow out between it and the Earth.
polarizes the conductor but does
not yet charge it.
 Charging by Induction

Step 3. The ground is removed Step 4. The rod is removed

while the charge rod is still and the conductor is now
nearby the conductor. charge (opposite of rod).
An object charged by induction has the opposite sign
of the influencing body.
Notice that the original charged object does not lose charge.
 Polarization
Polarization is the separation of charge
In a conductor, “free” electrons can move around the surface of
the material, leaving one side positive and the other side negative.

In an insulator, the electrons “realign” themselves within the

atom (or molecule), leaving one side of the atom positive and
the other side of the atom negative.

Polarization is not necessarily a charge imbalance!

Electric Forces and Electric Fields

CHARLES COULOMB MICHAEL FARADAY

(1736-1806) (1791-1867)
 Electrostatic Charges
A New Fundamental Physics Quantity
Electrostatic charge is a
fundamental quantity like
length, mass, and time.
The symbol for charge is q.
The SI unit for charge is
called the coulomb (C).
ATTRACTION AND REPULSION

The charge of an electron (qe) is -1.6 x 10-19 C

The charge of an proton (qp) is 1.6 x 10-19 C
Common electrostatic charges are small:
millicoulomb = mC = 10-3 C
microcoulomb = C = 10-6 C
nanocoulomb = nC = 10-9 C
 Electrostatic Force
Charles Coulomb’s Torsion Balance
A torsion balance measures the
force between small charges.
The electrostatic force depends directly
on the magnitude of the charges.
The force depends inversely on the
square of distance between charges
(another “inverse square law”)! TORSION BALANCE

COULOMB’S LAW OF
ELECTROSTATIC FORCE
constant The constant of proportionality, k,
charges is equal to 9.0 x 109 Nm2/C2.
kq1q2
Fe = 2 A negative force is attractive,
r and a positive force is repulsive.
electrostatic distance The sign (+ or –) is different from
force a vector direction (left or right)
Electrostatic Force
Electrostatic Force
 Electric Field

• We say that when a charged object is put at a point

in space,
The charged object sets up an Electric Field
throughout the space surrounding the charged
object
• It is this field that then exerts a force
on another charged object.
 Electric Field Strength
Field Theory Visualizes Force At A Distance
DEFINITION OF DEFINITION OF
GRAVITATIONAL ELECTRIC
FIELD FIELD

force force
g field = E field =
mass charge

Fg Fe
g= E=
m q0
q0 is a small, positive test charge

Electric field is a vector quantity SI unit of electric field

E field points toward negative charges newton N
=
E field points away from positive charges coulomb C
 Analogy
The electric field is the space around
an electrical charge

just like

a gravitational field is the space

around a mass.
 Electric Field
• Like the electric force, the electric field is also a
vector
• If there is an electric force acting on an object
having a charge qo, then the electric field at that
point is given by

 F
E=
q0 (with the sign of q0 included)
 Electric Field
A positive charge sets up
an electric field pointing
away from the charge

A negative charge sets up an

electric field pointing
towards the charge
 Electric Field Lines
Single Point Charges
POSITIVE CHARGE NEGATIVE CHARGE

Density of field
lines indicates
electric field
strength
Inverse square
law obeyed

Definition of E Field for single point charge

constant charge
Fe kq0 q / r 2 kq
E= = electric E= 2
q0 q0 field r distance
 Electric Field
EXAMPLE 1
Find the electric field strength at 2 meters
from the 5 millicoulomb charge.

kq
E= 2 E=
(9  10 9
)(
Nm 2 /C2 5  10 −3 C )
r (2 m )2
E
E=1.13  10 7 N/C, to the right

EXAMPLE 2
Find the force on an proton placed 2 meters from the 5 millicoulomb charge
in the problem above.
Fe
E=
q
( )( )
Fe = qE = 1.6  10-19 C 1.13  10 7 N/C = 1.81  10-12 N, to the right

OR

F =
(9  10 9
)( )(
Nm 2 /C2 5  10 −3 C 1.6  10-19 C ) = 1.8  10 -12
N, to the right
e
(2 m )2
 Electric Field Lines
Electric fields for multiple point charges

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE POINT CHARGES TWO POSITIVE POINT CHARGES

 Electric Shielding
•All charge on a conductor gathers on the
outside.

•If a charge is contained inside a conductor

the electric field is zero.

•If a charge is outside a conductor the

inside of the container will not be affected
by the outside charge.
Faraday Cage