Chapter 5: Electric Forces and Fields

basic components of atoms

protons, neutrons, and electrons

Two varieties of electric charge

Protons (positively charged) & Electrons (negatively charged)

Ionization

the removal or addition of electrons

Elementary charge

the magnitude of charge on an electron (and therefore on a proton) is denoted e, the basic unit of electric charge

Uniform Electric Field

Having a uniform field means having a constant force (and therefore a constant acceleration).

Examples of Conductors

metals and aqueous solutions that contain dissolved electrolytes (such as salt water)

Example of Insulators

glass, wood, rubber, and plastic

Coulomb’s Law

Coulomb’s constant

Permittivity of free space

Electric Field formula

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**electromagnetic force**

one of the most powerful forces in nature

Electric field in the space surrounding for a point charge  

**electric dipole**

two equal but opposite charges, form a pair

A charge *q* = +3.0 nC is placed at a location at which the electric field strength is 400 N/C. Find the force felt by the charge *q*.

**Dipole-induced forces**

are caused by a shifting of the electron cloud of a neutral molecule toward positively charged ions or away from a negatively charged ion; in either case, the resulting force between the ion and the atom is attractive

the electric field is always ____________ to the surface, no matter what shape the surface may be

**perpendicular**