Electrostatics

Division of Physics & Applied Physics PH2198/PAP218 Physics Laboratory IIa

Electrostatics Risk of Electrical Shock

Ensure all wiring are secure before turning on power supply Do not touch the metal conducting balls during conduct of experiment

1 Introduction
In this lab exercise you are going to investigate the interaction between two charged spheres and see how large electrical fields may lead to breakdown and spark discharges.

1.1 Interaction between charged spheres

Charles Augustin Coulomb (1736 1806) was a French physicist who studied, among other things, friction between materials and electrostatic forces. He invented a torsion balance which he used to investigate the electrostatic forces between metallic bodies containing electric surface charges. In 1785 he reported his experiments and proposed a law describing the force between two charged bodies. The law states that The magnitude of the electrostatic force |F| between two point charges Q and Q is directly proportional to the magnitudes of each charge and
1 2

inversely proportional to the square of the distance R between the charges. On mathematical form this becomes

(1) Where is the permittivity of the medium the charges are immersed in (we work in air, which has
-12 2 2

=8.85410 C /Nm ). Here we are going to investigate whether the interaction between two charged spheres follows Coulombs law. 1

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1.2 Dielectric breakdown

If the electric field between the metal balls is larger than the dielectric breakdown field of air, a spark is seen. This is similar to lightning bolts, which occurs as an electric discharge between clouds and ground (sometimes between clouds themselves). Air is composed of 78% N , 21 %
2

O in addition to trace amounts of Ar, CO and a few other gases. In order for the air to be
2 2

conductive, there must be a large number of free electrons in the air. Therefore, the air molecules must be ionized. The ionization potential of both nitrogen and oxygen is of the order of 15 eV (15.6 eV for N and 12.1 eV for O ), which correspond to an ionization energy of E ~ 15 eV
-19 2 -18 2 I

1.6 10 J/eV = 2.410 J. If we apply a sufficiently strong electric field, the electrons will be ripped away from the molecules, since the electrostatic attraction to the nucleus (protons) can no longer hold them in place. Once an electron is loose, it will collide with electrons confined by other molecules, and an avalanche has started in the same manner as for lightning or dielectric spark. The work (W) done on the electron as it is accelerated against the electric field is given by W=qE l, where q is the charge of the electron and L is length traveled by the electron between
max

collisions. This work transforms into kinetic energy. In order for the air molecules to be ionized, the kinetic energy just before the collision must be equal to the ionization energy E , and we can
I

therefore write

(2)
-10

Here only L is an unknown which need to be estimated. To this end, we treat the air particles as solid spheres of radius a equal to one Bohr radius, i.e. a=0.510 m. Moreover, we assume that an electron travels a straight path of length L between collisions such that a volume of space
2

V =r L contains one single air molecule. Thus, if n is the number density of air molecules, then
c 2 2

we have that nr L 1, or L1/nr , which gives

(3)
-23

We also assume that the air molecules follow the ideal gas law, PV=NkT, where P is the pressure in the air, N is the number of air molecules in a volume V, k =1.3810 J/K and T is the
B

temperature. Since n=N/V, we get n=P/k T, and therefore

B

(4) 2

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5 6 max

For a pressure P = 1 atm (10 Pa) and temperature T=295 K, we get E

310 V/m. In the

experiments described below are you going to measure the maximum field and test whether the estimate above coincides with your experiments.

2 Experiment
Note: DO NOT touch the metal balls or any open wires connected to the high voltage source. This may give you an electric shock. Equipment: 2 metal balls 2 banana plugs 1 force sensor with software 1 track 2 stages with holders 1 stage with micrometer drive 1 high voltage source (0-10 kV) The experimental setup is seen in the figure below. The force sensor should be connected to the PC, and calibrated with the provided software before use. One of the two metal balls (on the left in the figure below) is connected to the force sensor, while the other (on the right) is fixed on the movable stage. Its position can be fine-tuned by turning the micrometer screw.

Two banana plugs connect the two metal balls to the high voltage source, one to plus and the 3

Electrostatics other to minus. Your instructor will help you if you need further instructions.

Solve the following tasks: 1) Adjust the voltage (displayed on the high voltage source) to a value between 0.3-1 kV. Record the force versus distance as you move one of the metal balls apart using the micrometer drive. Plot the force versus distance between the metal balls for this particular voltage. Fit Eq. (1) to the experimental curves and obtain values for the electric charges on the metal balls. Can your experiment be explained by Coulombs law? If not, explain why.

2) Set the voltage to zero. Move the metal spheres such that their surfaces are s=1 mm apart. Gradually increase the voltage until you see a spark between the metal balls (see the figure below). Record the value of the voltage that gave the spark. Calculate the electric field (the dielectric breakdown field) that corresponds to this voltage. Repeat the measurements for 5 different separations s. Plot the dielectric breakdown field versus the separation distance s. What can you conclude from this graph?

Questions: A) At which separation are imperfections of the metal ball surface more important when you measure the force versus separation? B) Would a cloud be able to continuously release lightning bolts in the way observed in this experiment?. C) How do the three quantities charge, voltage and electric field compare with that of a lightning bolt that is, obviously the lightning bolt is bigger in some respects, but which respects? Is the lightning bolt the roughly same in any of these quantities?