ELECTRIC

CHARGES
AND
FORCES
Lesson 1
 Lesson Objectives:
1) State that there are positive and negative charges, and
that charge is measured in Coulombs.
2) Describe using a diagram charging by rubbing and
charging by induction.
3) Explain the role of electron transfer in electrostatic
charging by rubbing.
 Lesson Objectives:
4) Describe experiments to show electrostatic
charging by induction.
5) Calculate the net electric force on a point charge
exerted by a system of point charges.
 The History of Electricity

– Electric  Elektron = Greek word for amber

– “Rub amber with wool and it will pick up
bits of wood, feathers, straw…” – Thales of
Miletus
 The History of Electricity
– About 1736, Charles Francois du Fay (1698-1739) learned
that rubbing glass and rubbing resinous substances (e.g.,
amber) seemed to produce charges of different kinds.
– He found that two charges of the same kind repelled each
other, while two of unlike kinds attracted. He suggested that
electricity might exist as two distinctly different types, which
he named “vitreous” and “resinous” electricity.
 The History of Electricity
– William Watson (1715-1790) suggested in 1746 that electricity was
one “fluid”. One of the two kind of electricity proposed by Du Fay
could be an excess (+) of this fluid and the other a deficiency of it
(-). Flow from + to - could account for electrical discharge.
– Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) adopted and popularized Watson's
“one fluid” theory and chose vitreous electricity to be the positive
type (thereby giving electrons a negative charge). Franklin’s great
reputation won universal acceptance for this view.
 Electricity Facts
– There are two types of electric charge, called positive and
negative. The subatomic particle called a proton has a
positive charge, and an electron has a negative charge.
– Charge comes in quantized units.
– Like charges repel each other; unlike charges attract.
– Charge is conserved.
 What is Electric Charge?

– Charge is a fundamental property of matter; the

amount of charge that is “on” or “carried by” a
particle determines how the particle reacts to
electric and magnetic fields.
– Charge of a particle is a measure of the amount of
“electric-ness” it carries.
 Electric Charge
–  
– SI unit for charge is Coulombs (C), in honor of
French physicist Charles de Coulomb (1736-1806).
• mC = milli-Coulomb =
• μC = micro-Coulomb =
• nC = nano-Coulomb =
• pC = pica-Coulomb =
 Electric Charge

–  
– The charge on a single electron is

– The charge carried by a single proton is

 Electric Charges in Atoms
– Atoms consist of a nucleus containing positively charged
protons.
– The nucleus of an atom is surrounded by an equal number of
negatively charged electrons.
– The net charge on an atom is zero.
– An atom may gain or lose electrons, becoming an ion with a
net negative or positive charge.
 Triboelectric Series
– A list that ranks materials
according to their tendency to
gain or lose electrons. The process
of electron transfer as a result of
two objects coming into contact
with one another and then
separating is called triboelectric
charging.
 Methods of Charging

1) Charging by rubbing or friction – When two objects rub

against each other there is a possibility that some
electrons on one of the objects get transferred to the
other. As a result, the object that loses electrons
becomes positively charged while the object that gains
electrons becomes negatively charged.
 Methods of Charging

1) Charging by rubbing or
friction
 Methods of Charging

1) Charging by rubbing or
friction
 Methods of Charging

2) Charging by conduction – Charge can also be transferred

by providing a pathway to another object. The word
conduction simply describes the process where a path is
provided that allows charges to transfer from one object
to another. Objects that provide a pathway for charges
are called conductors while those that do not are called
insulators.
Methods of Charging

2) Charging
by
conduction
Methods of Charging

2) Charging by conduction
 Methods of Charging

3) Charging by induction – The first two methods of

charging involve the physical contact of materials
in order to transfer charges. The method of
induction involves no physical contact. This
approach makes use of polarization and the
properties of an electrical ground.
 Methods of Charging

3) Charging by induction
 Electric Force
– Electric force is the attraction (pull) and repulsion (push)
forces that exist between charged bodies. The electrostatic
force is a field force.
– Field forces are those forces that exert a push or a pull on an
object without actually touching it. This is unlike contact
forces which exert a push or a pull on an object only when
they touch the object.
 Factors that Determine
the Force Between Charges
1. The amount and type of
charge on the objects.
2. The distance between the
charged objects.
3. The type of medium that
the charged objects are in.
 Coulomb’s Law
– States that “the force on two charges is proportional to
the amount of charge on the two bodies and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between
them.”

Where:
 
𝑘 =8.99 × 109 𝑁 ∙ 𝑚 2 / 𝐶 2
 Important Features of
Coulomb’s Law
1. Increase in distance means decrease in force and vice versa (Inverse Square
Law)
2. Increase in charge means increase in force and vice versa (Proportionality)
3. The type of force that occurs depends on what types of charges are
interacting
• A force of attraction occurs when unlike charges interact
• A force of repulsion occurs when like charges interact
4. Each charge exerts an equal and opposite force on the other (from Newton’s
Third Law)
 Example 1: Determining Forces
Determine the force between:
a) two charges of +20μC and +30μC separated by 10cm
in air.
b) +20μC and -10μC separated by 20cm in air. Indicate
whether the force is one of attraction or repulsion in
each case.
 Example 2: Force on an Electron

What is the force exerted on an

electron by a point charge of
+0.2μC when they are 3 mm apart?
 Challenge Problem: Using
Coulomb’s Law to Clean the Air
Coal-burning power plant produce large amounts of
potential pollution in the form of small particles (soot).
Modern smokestacks use devices called scrubbers to remove
these particles from the smoke they emit. Scrubbers use a
two-step process: electrons are first added to the soot
particle, and an electric force then pulls the particle out of
the smoke stream.
 Challenge Problem: Using Coulomb’s Law
to Clean the Air
–  
Consider a soot particle of mass ), which corresponds to a diameter of a few
microns. Some number of electrons have been added to give the particle a
total charge . Suppose the collector has a total charge and is small enough to
be treated as a point charge at the rim of the smokestack. (a) If the separation
between the collector and the soot particle is , what is the value of so that the
electric force exerted on the particle is equal to its weight? (b) How many
electrons must be added to the soot particle?
 Principle of
Superposition
–  
– For a system of N charges , , , …, , the resultant force on
exerted by charges , , …, is:

– Each charge may be considered to exert a force on that is

independent of the other charges present.
 Example 3: Force on Three
Charges in a Straight Line
Find the magnitude and direction of the
force on 3.
1
 
𝟎.𝟔𝒎 2
 
𝟎 . 𝟑 𝒎 3
 𝑸 𝟏=−𝟏𝟔 𝝁 𝑪   𝑸 𝟐=𝟔 𝝁 𝑪  𝑸 𝟑=− 𝟖 𝝁 𝑪
 Example 4: Force on
Charges in a Right Triangle
Find the magnitude and direction
 𝑸 = 𝟔𝟓 𝝁 𝑪
of the force
3 𝟑
on 3.
𝟔𝟎  𝟕𝟒
 
° 𝒄𝒎
 
𝟑𝟕 𝒄𝒎
 
𝟑𝟎 °
 𝑸 =𝟕𝟓 𝝁 𝑪
𝑸 𝟏=−𝟓𝟎 𝝁 𝑪 1
   
𝟔𝟒 𝒄𝒎 2 𝟐
 Group Task:
–  
Group 1 & 3 – An electron is placed 1.2 mm away from a
charged metal block. The block and electron each feel a
repulsive force of .
a) What is the net charge on the block?
b) Is the metal block positively charged or negatively
charged?
 Group Task:
–  
Group 2 & 4 – Three charges are arranged along a single
axis as in the diagram below: , , .

𝟒𝟓
 
𝒄𝒎  
𝟓𝟎 𝒄𝒎
1 the magnitude2 of the net force on
3 ?
a) What is
b) What is the magnitude of the net force on ?
 Group Task:
–  
Group 5 – Three charges are arranged to form a right
triangle. What is the magnitude and direction acting on
from the other charges?
 
 
𝟒 . 𝟎𝟎 𝒎  𝑸 =𝟓 . 𝟎𝟎 𝝁 𝑪
2 3 𝟑

𝟑 . 𝟎𝟎 𝒎𝟓 . 𝟎𝟎 𝒎
   

𝑸 𝟏=𝟔 . 𝟎𝟎 𝝁 𝑪 1