Static Electricity Static Electricity Electrostatics the study of

Static Electricity

Static Electricity • Electrostatics – the study of electrical charges that can be collected and held in one place • TRY THIS: get a pencil or pen and rub it against your clothes. Use the pen or pencil and touch small pieces of paper or hair on the table. What happens and why?

Static Electricity • Frictional forces between two objects can strip off ions from one onto the other, thus giving it charge • Electrons are taken off of atoms, making those atoms positive ions. Then they attach themselves to already neutral atoms, making them negative ions.

Static Electricity • Conductor – materials that allow charges to flow through them easily. Metals are great conductors. • Insulator – materials which do not allow charges to flow through them easily. Plastic or rubber are examples.

Static Electricity • There are two types of electrical charges: positive and negative • Charges exert force on one another over a distance • Like charges repel; opposite charges attract

Static Electricity • Two ways to charge an object • Charging by conduction: touching an object with a charged object will give it a charge • Charging by induction: bringing a charged object close to a neutral object will cause the neutral object to have its charges separated

Static Electricity •

Static Electricity • Example 1: Object A has a positive charge of 6. 0 x 10^-6 C. Object B, carrying a positive charge of 3. 0 x 10^-6 C, is 0. 030 m away. • a. calculate the force on A • b. what would be the force if the charge on B were negative?

Static Electricity • Example 2: Object A has a charge of +6. 0 x 10^(-6) C. It has two other charges nearby. Object B has charge -3. 0 x 10^(-6) C and is 0. 04 m to the right. Object C has charge +1. 5 x 10^(-6) C and is 0. 03 m below. What is the net force on A? Draw a graph and use vectors to help.

Static Electricity • Try these problems