Electric Force Continued Conductors and Insulators Conductors are

Electric Force Continued…

Conductors and Insulators �Conductors are materials that permit electrons to flow freely from particle to particle. �Metals, Water, Neon �Insulators are materials that impede the free flow of electrons from atom to atom and molecule to molecule. �Wood, Glass, Rubber

Conductors �An object made of a conducting material will permit charge to be transferred across the entire surface of the object. �Conductors allow for charge transfer through the free movement of electrons.

Insulator �Insulators are materials that impede the free flow of electrons from atom to atom and molecule to molecule. �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.

Conductors and Insulators

Lightning �The tops of the storm clouds are known to acquire an excess of positive charge and the bottoms of the storm clouds acquire an excess of negative charge. � A separation of charge by a process that bears resemblance to frictional charging.

Lightning �A storm cloud becomes polarized with positive charges carried to the upper portions of the clouds and negative portions gravitating towards the bottom of the clouds.

Lightning � The quantity of positive charge residing on the Earth's surface becomes even greater � As the electrons approach the Earth, there is an additional repulsion of electrons