LG08 Electric Fields physics 40S with Mr. Hiebert

when is an object considered neutral

equal # of protons and electrons

when is an object considered positive

looses electrons so it has less electrons and more protons

when is an object considered negative

object gains electrons and has more electrons and less protons

what happens when oppositely charged objects touch

electrons are transferred from the negative object to the positive object

electrostatic forces

oppositely charged objects are attracted to each other, while like charges repel.

what do electrostatic forces depend on

the size of the charge on the objects and the distance between them

unit of measurement for charge is the

coulomb (C)

static electricity

electric charges that accumulate on and objects surface, while the movement of charge (electrons or ions) is referred to as current electricity

how can static charge build up?

rubbing 2 objects of different material together which transfers electrons from one object to another

conductor

material that allows electrons to flow freely between atoms or molecules. transfers some of its charge to object

insulators

material that stops the free flow of electrons from atom to atom. atoms in insulators hold onto electrons tightly.

what happens when charge is transferred to an insulator at a given location?

the excess charge stays at the start location of charging (is not distributed easily across the surface)

grounding

a charged object causes the object to become neutrally charged by adding or removing electrons

it does this by adding electrons if the object is + charged and removing electrons if the object is - charged.

separation of charge

occurs when a charged object is brought to a neutral conductor. results in different ends of the conductor having opposite charges due to the movement of electrons within the conductor.

polarization of charge

when a charged object is brought to a neutral insulator, it is attracted because of this! the charges align opposite one another, but not far apart