physics 6

Coulomb's law

Describes the electrostatic force between two point charges, stating that the force is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Electrostatic Force

The force between two charged objects, described by Coulomb's law.

Insulators

Materials in which electrons are tightly held by the nuclei and are not free to move through the material (e.g., glass, rubber).

Conductors

Materials through which electrons can move freely (e.g., metals like copper and silver).

Charging by friction

The process where two objects rub together, causing one to become positively charged and the other negatively charged.

Charging by induction

The process where an electrically charged object is brought near an uncharged object, causing a separation of charges without direct contact.

Charging by conduction

Charging an object by allowing it to come into contact with another object that already has an electrical charge.

Polarization

The shifting of charge distribution in a neutral object when exposed to a nearby charged object, leading to an attractive force.

Grounding

The process of connecting an object to the earth, allowing electric charges to flow and neutralize the object.

Electric Charge

A fundamental property of matter that can be positive or negative, responsible for electrostatic interactions.

Protons

Positively charged particles located in the nucleus that are massive and do not move.

Electrons

Negatively charged particles located outside the nucleus that are weakly bound, small, and can move freely.

Neutral Objects

Objects that have the same amount of positive and negative charges and can only attract charged objects.

Attraction vs Repulsion

Opposite charges attract each other, while like charges repel each other.

Electrostatic interactions

Interactions that occur between charged objects, governed by their electric charge.

Electronic affinity

An atom's ability to gain or lose electrons.