GENERAL PHYSICS 2

LESSON 1:
• ELECTRIC FORCES
• ELECTRIC CHARGES
• CONSERVATION OF CHARGE

TEACHER: DARYLL T. CAGOYONG

ELECTRICITY
 General term given to all things
electric.
 Phenomenon associated with
stationary or moving electric charges.
Electric charge is a fundamental property of
matter and is borne by elementary particles.

 Thus various manifestations of

electricity are the result of the
accumulation or motion of numbers of
electrons.
TYPES OF ELECTRICITY
 STATIC  CURRENT
- Commonly known - This is a type of
as electrostatic. electricity which is
This is the type of generated by the
electricity which is flow of electrical
generated from charge through a
rubbing two or conductor across
more objects an electrical field.
causing to build up - Electricity in
friction. motion.
- Electricity at rest.
Electric Charge and Static
Electricity
Electric Charge
 All matter is made up of atoms

 Atoms contain
1. Protons (+)
2. Neutrons (0)
3. Electrons (-)
Constituents of an Atom
 Law of Electric Charges
 The law of electric charges states
that like charges repel, and
opposite charges attract.

 Protons are positively charged and

electrons are negatively charged,
so they are attracted to each other.

 Without this attraction, electrons

would not be held in atoms.
Law of Electric Charges
 Law of Conservation of
Electric Charge
 When you charge something by any
method, no charges are created or
destroyed.
 The numbers of electrons and protons
stay the same. Electrons simply move
from one atom to another, making areas
with different charges.
 Electric Force
The force between the
charged objects is an
electric force.

The size of the electric force depends on 2 things:

1. The amount of charge (the greater the charge,
the greater the force)
2. The distance between charges (the further the
distance, the less the force)
CHECKPOINT
How does the concept of force for electrical
phenomena compare with the mechanical
forces described in Newton’s laws of motion?

There’s no difference. The concept

of force is general, whether pushes or
pulls are created by muscular effort,
gravity, or electricity—all measured in
the same units: newtons.
CHECKPOINT
Beneath the complexities of electrical
phenomena, there lies a fundamental rule
from which nearly all other effects stem.
What is the fundamental rule?

Like charges repel; opposite

charges attract.
CHECKPOINT
How does the charge of an electron differ
from the charge of a proton?

The charge of an electron is equal

in magnitude, but opposite in sign, to the
charge of a proton.
CHECKPOINT
If you scuff electrons onto your feet while you
walk across a rug, are you negatively or
positively charged?

You have more electrons after you

scuff your feet, so you are negatively
charged (and the rug is positively
charged).
Electric Field
 An electric field is the region around
a charged object where electric
forces can be exerted on another
charged object.
(Repelled or attracted)
Charged Objects
 Atoms do not have a charge
because the number of electrons
and protons cancel each other out.
Ex.
3 protons (+) & 3 electrons (-) = 0
Charged Objects
How do objects get charged?
 They either gain or lose electrons.

 Why not protons?

Ex.
3 protons (+) & 5 electrons (-) =

7 protons (+) & 2 electrons (-) =

  Static electricity
is the electric
charge at rest on
Static Electricity an object.

 When something
is static, it is not
moving.
 The charges of
static electricity do
not move away
from the object
that they are in.
So, the object
keeps its charge.

 Ex. Clothes taken

out of a dryer
 How Can You Charge Objects?
 There are 3 ways objects can be
charged:
1. Friction

2. Conduction

3. Induction

**In each of these, only the electrons move. The

protons stay in the nucleus**
Friction
 Charging by friction occurs when
electrons are “wiped” from one object
onto another.

Ex.
If you use a cloth to rub a plastic ruler,
electrons move from the cloth to the
ruler.
The ruler gains electrons and the cloth
loses electrons.
 Conduction

 Charging by conduction happens when

electrons move from one object to another
through direct contact (touching).
Ex. Suppose you touch an uncharged piece of
metal with a positively charged glass rod.
Electrons from the metal will move to the
glass rod. The metal loses electrons and
becomes positively charged.
 Induction
 Charging by induction happens when
charges in an uncharged object are
rearranged without direct contact
with a charged object.

Ex. If you charge up a balloon through

friction and place the balloon near
pieces of paper, the charges of the
paper will be rearranged and the paper
will be attracted to the balloon.
 Induction
Consider the two insulated metal spheres, A and B, in
Figure 22.7
 Induction
Consider the two insulated metal spheres, A and B, in
Figure 22.7

The spheres touch each

other, so in effect, they
form a single
uncharged conductor.
 Induction
Consider the two insulated metal spheres, A and B, in
Figure 22.7
When a negatively
charged rod is brought
near A, electrons in the
metal, being free to
move, are repelled as far
as possible until their
mutual repulsion is
strong enough to balance
the influence of the rod.
The charge is then
redistributed.
 Induction
Consider the two insulated metal spheres, A and B, in
Figure 22.7
The spheres are
separated while the rod
is still present, each
will be equally and
oppositely charged.
The charged rod has
never touched the
spheres, and the rod
retains the same
charge it has initially.
 Induction
We can similarly charge a single sphere by induction if
we touch it when different parts of it are differently
charged. Let us consider the metal sphere that
hangs from a non conducting string shown in Figure
22.8
Induction

a. The net charge on

the metal sphere is
zero.
b. Charge redistribution
is induced on the
sphere by the
presence of the
charged rod. The net
charge is still zero.
Induction

c. Touching the
negative side of the
sphere removes
electrons by contact.

d. This leaves the

sphere positively
charged.
Induction

e. The sphere is more

strongly attracted to
the negative rod, and
when touches, charging
by contact occurs.

d. The negative sphere

is repelled by the still
somewhat negatively
charged rod.
 Electric Discharge
 The loss of static electricity as charges
move off an object is called electric
discharge.
Sometimes,
electric
Sometimes, discharge
electric happens
discharge quickly.
happens
slowly. Ex. wearing
rubber-soled
Ex: static on shoes on
clothes carpet,
lightning
 Lightning

 Lightning usually strikes the highest

point in a charged area because
that point provides the shortest
path for the charges to reach the
ground.

 Anything that sticks up or out in an

area can provide a path for
lightning.

 A lightning rod is a pointed rod

connected to the ground by a wire.
 Lightning
 Objects, such as a lightning rod, that
are joined to Earth by a conductor,
such as a wire, are “grounded.” Any
object that is grounded provides a
path for electric charges to move to
Earth.

 Because Earth is so large, it can give

up or absorb charges without being
damaged.

 When lightning strikes a lightning rod,

the electric charges are carried safely
to Earth through the rod’s wire. By
directing the charge to Earth, the rods
prevent lightning from damaging
buildings.
How Lightning Forms
FYI
 Lighting occurs mainly in warm climates.

As warm water vapor rises in the air, it

brushes against the ice crystals high in the air
above, producing similar to what occurs when
you scuff your feet on the carpet or cloth. The
ice crystals gain a slightly positive charge,
and the updraft carries them to the top of the
cloud.
CHARGE POLARIZATION

 There is a rearrangement of
charges within atoms and molecules
themselves.
 One side of the atom or molecule is
induced into becoming more
negative or positive than the
opposite side. The atom or molecule
is said to be electrically
polarized.
Conductors and
Insulators

 An electrical conductor is a material in

which charges can move easily.

 Most metals are good conductors because

some of their electrons are free to move.

 Conductors are used to make wires. For

example, a lamp cord has metal wire and
metal prongs.

 Copper, aluminum, and mercury are good

conductors.
Conductors and
Insulators

 An electrical insulator is a material in

which charges cannot move easily.

 Insulators do not conduct charges very

well because their electrons cannot flow
freely. The electrons are tightly held in
the atoms of the insulator.

 The insulating material in a lamp cord

stops charges from leaving the wire and
protects you from electric shock.

 Plastic, rubber, glass, wood, and air are

good insulators.
 Semi - Conductors
 A material that can be made to behave
sometimes as an insulator and sometimes as a
conductor.
 Materials that fall in the middle of the range of
electrical resistivity, being fair insulators in
their crystalline form and becoming excellent
conductors when even 1 atom in a million is
replaced with an impurity that adds or
removes an electron from the crystal structure
in a process called doping.

Example:
 Germanium (Ge) and Silicon (Si), are neither
good conductors nor good insulators.
CHECKPOINT
What do electrical and heat conductors have
in common? What do electrical insulators
have in common?

Both conductors transfer energy

from one place to another. Both
electrical and heat energy are measured
in joules.