Electric Charges and Fields

Flashcards based on lecture notes about electric charges, conductors, insulators, and methods of charging objects.

Protons

Positively charged particles in the nucleus of an atom.

Neutrons

Uncharged particles in the nucleus of an atom.

Electrons

Negatively charged particles located outside the nucleus of an atom.

Ions

Atoms that are positively or negatively charged.

What is the principle of conservation of charge?

Electric charge is neither created nor destroyed; it is conserved.

What does it mean for electric charge to be quantized?

Charge occurs as integer multiples of a fundamental unit of charge (e).

What is the value of 'e'?

The fundamental unit of charge, approximately 1.60 x 10^-19 C.

What are electrical conductors?

Materials in which electric charges move freely.

What are electrical insulators?

Materials in which electric charges do not move freely.

What are semiconductors?

Materials with electrical properties between those of insulators and conductors.

What are superconductors?

Materials that have zero electrical resistance at or below a certain temperature.

What is charging by contact?

Charging an object by rubbing two materials together.

What is charging by induction?

The process of charging a conductor by bringing it near another charged object and grounding the conductor.

What is a sink in the context of electric charge?

A system which can absorb a large number of charges without becoming locally charged itself.

What is polarization?

The slight shifting of positive and negative charge centers in a neutral atom or molecule in the presence of a charged object.