Electric Forces and Electric Fields AP PHYSICS B

Electric Forces and Electric Fields. AP PHYSICS B - Chapter 18.

The Ancient Greeks Found Amber. Many myths surround the origin of amber. Ovid writes that when Phaeton, a son of Phoebus, the sun, convinced his father to allow him to drive the chariot of the sun across the sky for a day, he drove too close to the earth, setting it on fire. To save the earth, Jupiter struck Phaeton out of the sky with his thunderbolts and he died, plunging out of the sky. His mother and sister turned into trees in their grief but still cried mourning him. Their tears, dried by the sun, are amber. The Greeks called amber elektron, or sun-made, perhaps because of this story, or perhaps because it becomes electrically charged when rubbed with a cloth and can attract small particles. Homer mentions amber jewelry - earrings and a necklace of amber beads - as a princely gift in the Odyssey. Another ancient writer, Nicias, said that amber was the juice or essence of the setting sun congealed in the sea and cast up on the shore. Amber ranges in age from 30 to 50 Million years old.

Magnetite: From Magnesia (Turkey). Formula: Fe 3 O 4. Description: Dark grey, slightly shiny. Magnetite is naturally magnetic. It is also called Lodestone. In Middle Ages, pilots were called lodesmen. The lodestar is the Polar star, the leading star by which mariners are guided. The name probably comes from Magnesia, but there is a fable of Magnes, a Greek shepherd, who discovered magnetite when the nails in his shoes stuck to the ground!

The ancient Greeks saw no connection between Electricity and Magnetism. Today we know that: § Electric forces hold atoms and molecules together. § Electricity controls our thinking, feeling, muscles, and metabolic processes. § Electricity and magnetism determine much of our current technology (e. g. computers). § Electricity and magnetism are linked on a fundamental level.

Electric Charges • Evidence for electric charges is everywhere, e. g. Ex. static electricity and lightning. • Objects may become charged by contact and frictional forces. Ex. clothes in dryer • Benjamin Franklin (1700’s) discovered that there are two types of charges: Ex. positive charge and negative charge. • Franklin also discovered that like charges repel and unlike charges attract one another. • Electric charge was found to be both quantized (Millikan) and conserved (Franklin).

Classes of Materials • CONDUCTORS are materials in which charges may move freely (e. g. copper). • INSULATORS are materials in which charges cannot move freely (e. g. glass). • SEMICONDUCTORS are materials in which charges may move under some conditions (e. g. silicon).

Charges and the Earth • The earth acts as a near-infinite source or sink of charges, and therefore its net charge cannot easily be changed. • Any conductor in contact with the earth is said to be GROUNDED and cannot receive a net charge. (principle of lightning rod)

Induced Charge • Charged objects brought close to a conductor may cause charge to redistribute (polarize the conductor). • If a polarized conductor is momentarily grounded, charge will be transferred to/from the earth, and it may be left with a net charge (by INDUCTION). • Objects may be charged by – conduction (requires contact with another charged object. – induction (requires no contact with another charged object).

Benjamin Franklin determined that there are only 2 types of charge. Rubber Rod - Negative Glass Rod - Positive Unlike Charges Attract.

1706 - 1790 • • Famous Quotations: 1. Haste makes waste. 2. Genius without education is like silver in the mine. 3. A penny saved is a penny earned. 4. Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. 5. Never leave ‘til tomorrow which you can do today. 6. The sleeping fox catches no poultry. 7. To find out a girl's faults, praise her to her girl friends.

LIKE CHARGES REPEL.

Charging an Object by Induction Which Involves No Contact but Includes Grounding.

The Theory About How an Insulator Works.

Charles Coulomb 1736 -1806 Discovered Coulomb’s Law experimentally

Charles Coulomb Measured the Force Between Charged Objects. F=k · (q 1 q 2) d 2 k = 9 x 109 N m 2/C 2

Quantum of Electric Charge • Electric charge is quantized. The smallest possible unit is the charge on one electron or one proton: 1 e = 1. 602 x 10 -19 Coulombs • No smaller charge has ever been detected in an experiment.

• 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. • Polar molecules have zero net charge but their charges are unevenly distributed in space (e. g. water). Electric Charges in Atoms Nuclear diameter ~ 10 -15 m (femtometer) Atomic diameter ~ 10 -9 m (nanometer)