Electricity and magnets

What is electrostatics?

Electrostatics is the study of nature, behavior, and uses of static electricity and related phenomena.

What is electric charge?

Electric charge is a property that allows particles to attract and repel other charged particles by electromagnetic force.

What is static electricity?

Electric charges on the surface of charged objects are commonly called static electricity.

What is the unit of electric charge?

The unit of electric charge is the Coulomb.

What does the law of electric charges state?

The law of electric charges states that opposite charges attract each other, and like charges repel each other.

What does the law of electric force state?

The law of electric force states that the strength of attraction or repulsion between two charged objects is directly related to the strength of their charges and inversely related to the square of the distance between them.

How are electric fields represented?

Electric fields are often mapped by drawing lines of force arrows indicating how a positive test charge in the field would move.

What is conduction in electrostatics?

Conduction is when a negatively charged object touches a neutral object and electrons move from the charged object onto the neutral object.

What is the law of conservation of charge?

The law of conservation of charge states that the total charge remains the same before and after any interaction.

What is grounding?

Grounding is the process of diverting unwanted electric charge directly into the earth, commonly used to dissipate charge.

What is charging by induction?

Charging by induction is the process of imparting electric charge at a distance without direct contact, usually temporary.

What is electric current?

Electric current is the flow of charge from one place to another.

What is an electroscope?

An electroscope is a simple device that uses electrostatic principles to detect small electric charges.

What is direct current (DC)?

Direct current (DC) is electricity that flows in only one direction.

What is alternating current (AC)?

Alternating current (AC) is electricity that flows first in one direction and then reverses at regular intervals.

What is voltage?

Voltage is the work done per unit charge to move electric charges between different parts of an electric field.

What is the SI unit of voltage?

The SI unit of voltage is the Volt.

What is resistance?

Resistance is the amount a certain object hinders electron flow, measured in ohms.

What is Joule heat?

Energy used to overcome resistance is converted into heat, known as Joule heat.

What are superconductors?

Materials that allow current to flow with no resistance at all are called superconductors.

What does Ohm's law state?

Ohm's law states that current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to voltage and inversely proportional to resistance.

What is a resistor?

A resistor is an electrical device designed to add resistance to a circuit.

What is a closed circuit?

A closed circuit contains a complete path for electrons to flow from the source of current, through the load, and back to the source.

What is an open circuit?

An open circuit occurs when a gap is made, preventing current flow.

What is a switch?

A switch is a device that opens or closes a circuit.

What is a short circuit?

A short circuit occurs if electricity has the opportunity to take a shortcut through the circuit, avoiding the load.

What is a fuse?

A fuse is a narrow strip of metal housed in a protective, insulated case.

What is a circuit breaker?

A circuit breaker is an automatic switch that opens the circuit when current exceeds a predetermined amount.

What is a series circuit?

In a series circuit, loads are arranged so that the electric current flows through each load one after another.

What is a parallel circuit?

In a parallel circuit, loads are arranged in separate branches, and the current is divided among them.

What is a magnet?

A magnet is an object capable of attracting materials by magnetic force.

What is magnetism?

Magnetism is the property of attracting objects by magnetic force.

What are magnetic poles?

Magnetic poles are regions of concentrated magnetism; unlike poles attract while like poles repel.

What is a magnetic field?

A magnetic field is the region surrounding a magnet where other objects are affected by magnetism.

What are lines of magnetic flux?

Lines of flux indicate the direction and strength of a magnetic field.

What is permeability in magnetism?

Permeability is the extent to which material can absorb or channel lines of magnetic flux.

What is domain theory?

Domain theory states that a group of aligned atoms has a single magnetic field.

What are paramagnetic substances?

Paramagnetic substances are weakly attracted to magnets.

What are ferromagnetic substances?

Ferromagnetic substances have several unpaired electrons per atom, making them strongly attracted to magnets.

What is a temporary magnet?

A temporary magnet is made from magnetically soft material and loses most of its magnetism when the magnetic field is removed.

What is a permanent magnet?

Permanent magnets are made from magnetically hard materials whose magnetism persists.

What is magnetizing by contact?

Magnetizing by contact is the process of repeatedly stroking an object in the same direction to align its domains with a magnetic field.

What is an electromagnet?

An electromagnet is a device that produces a strong magnetic field when electricity passes through it.

What is the curie point?

The curie point is the temperature at which a ferromagnetic material's domains disappear.

What is coercivity?

Coercivity is the resistance of a magnet to being magnetized by a magnetic field.

What is deflecting force?

Deflecting force is the force in a magnetic field that causes a moving electric charge to deviate from its original path.

What is angle of declination?

The angle of declination is the deviation of a compass needle from pointing to True North.

What are isogonic lines?

Isogonic lines connect points of equal declination.

What is the agonic line?

The agonic line is the line connecting all points where the compass needle points True North.

What are isoclinic lines?

Isoclinic lines connect locations having equal inclination.

What is the magnetic equator?

The magnetic equator is where lines of flux are horizontal.

What is the magnetosphere?

The magnetosphere is the extent of the planet's magnetic field in space, distorted by solar wind.

What is the magnetopause?

The magnetopause is the outer boundary of the magnetosphere.

What are Van Allen radiation belts?

Van Allen radiation belts are two vast donut-shaped belts of high-speed charged particles.

What is an aurora?

An aurora is the fantastic display of shimmering light produced when particles crash into molecules of air.