THE LAW OF CONSERVATION OF CHARGE

The Law of conservation of charge states that the net charge of an isolated system remains
constant. If a system starts out with an equal number of positive and negative charges,
there¹s nothing we can do to create an excess of one kind of charge in that system unless we
bring in charge from outside the system (or remove some charge from the system). Likewise,
if something starts out with a certain net charge, say +100 e, it will always have +100 e unless
it is allowed to interact with something external to it.

Charge can be created and destroyed, but only in positive-negative pairs.

Table of elementary particle masses and charges:

CONDUCTION

Conduction (or heat conduction) is the transfer of thermal energy between neighboring
molecules in a substance due to a temperature gradient. It always takes place from a region
of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature, and acts to equalize temperature
differences. Conduction takes place in all forms of matter, viz. solids, liquids, gases and
plasmas, but does not require any bulk motion of matter. In solids, it is due to the combination
of vibrations of the molecules in a lattice and the energy transport by free electrons. In gases
and liquids, conduction is due to the collisio-ns and diffusion of the molecules during their
random motion.

INDUCTION

There are a variety of methods to charge an object. One method is known as induction. In the
induction process, a charged object is brought near but not touched to a neutral conducting
object. The presence of a charged object near a neutral conductor will force (or induce)
electrons within the conductor to move. The movement of electrons leaves an imbalance of
charge on opposite sides of the neutral conductor. While the overall object is neutral (i.e., has
the same number of electrons as protons), there is an excess of positive charge on one side
of the object and an excess of negative charge on the opposite side of the object. Once the
charge has been separated within the object, a ground is brought near and touched to one of
the sides. The touching of the ground to the object permits a flow of electrons between the
object and the ground. The flow of electrons results in a permanent charge being left upon the
object. When an object is charged by induction, the charge received by the object is opposite
the charge of the object which was used to charge it.

POLARIZATION

In general terms, polarization means to separate into opposites. In the context of electricity,
polarization is the process of separating opposite charges within an object. The positive
charge becomes separated from the negative charge. By inducing the movement of electrons
within an object, one side of the object is left with an excess of positive charge and the other
side of the object is left with an excess of negative charge. Charge becomes separated into
opposites.

The polarization process always involves the use of a charged object to induce electron
movement or electron rearrangement.

ELECTROSCOPE

An electroscope is an early scientific instrument that is used to detect the presence and
magnitude of electric charge on a body. It was the first electrical measuring instrument.
Electroscopes detect electric charge by the motion of a test object due to the Coulomb
electrostatic force. The electric potential or voltage of an object equals its charge divided by
its capacitance, so electroscopes can be regarded as crude voltmeters. The accumulation of
enough charge to detect with an electroscope requires hundreds or thousands of volts, so
electroscopes are only used with high voltage sources such as static electricity and
electrostatic machines.

CONDUCTORS

Conductors are materials which permit electrons to flow freely from atom to atom and
molecule to molecule. An object made of a conducting material will permit charge to be
transferred across the entire surface of the object. If charge is transferred to the object at a
given location, that charge is quickly distributed across the entire surface of the object. The
distribution of charge is the result of electron movement. Since conductors allow for electrons
to be transported from particle to particle, a charged object will always distribute its charge
until the overall repulsive forces between excess electrons is minimized. If a charged
conductor is touched to another object, the conductor can even transfer its charge to that
object. The transfer of charge between objects occurs more readily if the second object is
made of a conducting material. Conductors allow for charge transfer through the free
movement of electrons. Examples of conductors include metals, aqueous solutions of salts
(i.e., ionic compounds dissolved in water), graphite, water and the human body.

INSULATORS

Insulators are materials which impede the free flow of electrons from atom to atom and
molecule to molecule. If charge is transferred to an insulator at a given location, the excess
charge will remain at the initial location of charging. The particles of the insulator do not permit
the free flow of electrons; subsequently charge is seldom distributed evenly across the
surface of an insulator. Examples of insulators include plastics, Styrofoam, paper, rubber,
glass and dry air.

IONIZATION

Ionization is the physical process of converting an atom or molecule into an ion by adding or
removing charged particles such as electrons or other ions. This process works slightly
differently depending on whether an ion with a positive or a negative electric charge is being
produced. A positive electric charge is produced when an electron bond to an atom or
molecule absorbs enough energy from an external source to escape from the electric
potential barrier that originally confined it, where the amount of energy required is called the
ionization potential. A negative electric charge is produced when a free electron collides with
an atom and is subsequently caught inside the electric potential barrier, releasing any excess
energy.

ACID, BASE, SALT

Acids, bases and salts are three main categories of chemical compounds. These are
compounds that can undergo electrolytic dissociation. These have certain definite properties
which distinguish one class from the other. Hence these substances can also be classified as
electrolytes.
Acids
An acid is a substance, which on dissolving in water forms hydrogen or hydronium ions, as
the only positive ions.

Base

A base is an electrovalent compound, which on dissolving in water, dissociates into a

positively charged metal ion or ammonium ion and a negatively charged hydroxyl ion.

Salt

A salt is an electrovalent compound, made up of a positive ion other than a hydrogen ion (H +)
and a negative ion, other than a hydroxyl ion (OH -). When dissolved in water, it dissociates
into free mobile ions. Such salts thus behave as electrolytes. They can be strong or weak
electrolytes depending on the degree of dissociation.