Static Electricity

● electrical force
● explanation of static electricity starts with the atom
○ proton has a positive charge and the electron has a negative charge. The
charges on the particles can cause either attractive or repulsive (pushing away)
forces between the particles.
Electrical Charge
● Most objects have equal amounts of positive and negative charge, which makes them
neutral
○ Sometimes an object has more of one type of charged particle than another. For
example, an object with more electrons than protons is negatively charged.
When this happens, we say that an object has built up a static charge. “Static”
means “not moving” or “stationary.” This type of charge does not flow like the
electrons in an electrical current
● Charged objects cause charge separation when they are brought close to neutral objects
○ If u bring negatively charged balloon close to wall, it will repel electrons in wall.
This means that only protons are left close to balloon, causing attraction
Electrical Discharge
● Static electricity doesn’t flow like a current
○ It still may discharge at times
○ built-up charge on an object may be attracted to another object and jump to that
object.
■ This is what happens when you feel a shock as you reach for the
doorknob after walking across a carpet
■ resulting spark is usually referred to as electrical discharge
The Laws of Electrical Charges
1. Opposite charges attract to each other
2. Like charges repel each other
Current Electricity
● steady flow of charged particles is called electrical current. This is the type of electricity
needed to operate electrical devices. Unlike static electricity, an electrical current flows
continuously if 2 conditions are met
○ Flow requires an energy source
○ Must have circuit for electrons to flow through
● Rate at which current flows is measured in amperes (amps)
● A continuous flow of electrical charge can be produced by devices ranging from
miniature cells in watches to huge generators in power stations
● Materials that allow for transfer of electric current are called conductors
○ Conduction of electricity through wires allows for the transfer of electrical energy
from place to place.

Van de graaf generator=electrostatic generator which uses a moving belt to accumulate electric
charge
Circuits
● A circuit is a path that controls the flow of electricity
● In most electrical circuits, the path that the electricity flows along is made of solid metal
wires
● circuit usually includes a conductor, an energy source, and a load
○ load is a device to convert electrical energy to another form of energy (lightbulb)
Electrical Energy and Voltage
● Electrical energy is the energy carried by charged particles. Voltage is a measure of how
much electrical energy each charged particle carries. The higher the voltage is, the
greater the potential energy of each particle.
● Energy delivered by a flow of charged particles is equal to the voltage times the total
charge of the electrons
● unit of voltage is the volt
● Measured with voltmeter
Fuses
● contain a thin piece of metal that is specially designed to melt if too much current passes
through it
Circuit Breakers
● Most household circuit breakers also have a special wire that heats up if there is too
much current. Instead of melting, the hot wire triggers a spring mechanism that turns off
the switch inside the circuit breaker. As soon as the wire has cooled, the circuit breaker
can be turned back on.
Cells and Batteries
● Dry Cells
○ electricity-producing cells that we use every day in flashlights and portable radios
○ called “dry” because the chemicals are in a paste. They are also sealed so they
can be used in any position without the chemicals leaking out
○ chemical reaction in the cell releases free electrons. These electrons travel from
the negative terminal of the cell, through the electricity-using device, and back to
the positive terminal of the cell
○ cell may look complex, it is simply two different metals in an electrolyte
● An electrolyte is a paste or liquid that conducts electricity because it contains chemicals
that form ions. An ion is an atom or a group of atoms that has become electrically
charged through the loss or gain of electrons from one atom to another
● electrolyte reacts with the two metals, called electrodes. As a result of this reaction, one
electrode becomes positively charged, and the other becomes negatively charged
● Wet Cells
○ wet cell uses a liquid electrolyte that is usually an acid, such as sulfuric acid.
Many of the earliest cells were wet cells, as are most cells in cars and trucks
today
○ Cheaper + easier to make
○ acidic electrolyte gradually eats away the zinc electrode. This process leaves
behind electrons that give the slowly disappearing electrode a negative charge
● Rechargeable Cells
 ○ dry cells and wet cells you have read about are called primary cells
■ produce electricity from chemical reactions that cannot be reversed.
○ chemical reactions in a rechargeable cell can be reversed by using an external
electrical source to run electricity back through the cell. The reversed flow of
electrons restores the reactants that are used up when the cell produces
electricity. We can say that the chemicals in a rechargeable cell store electricity
supplied by the external source. Rechargeable cells are also known as
secondary cells
○ Not all reversible chemical reactions are suitable for use in rechargeable cells.
The reverse reaction must occur efficiently, so that hundreds of recharging cycles
are possible
● Connecting cells together creates a battery. Most batteries are sealed into cases with
only two terminals, so many people don’t realize that batteries contain more than one
cell
Electrolysis
● industrial processes use electrolysis to separate useful elements from solutions
● a process of decomposing ionic compounds into their elements by passing a
direct electric current through the compound in a fluid form
Electroplating
● process of coating a metal with a thin layer of another metal by electrolysis to
improve the metal's corrosion resistance
Conductors and Insulators
● electrons in insulators are tightly bound to the positive nucleus of their atoms.
They resist moving away from the nucleus. In conductors, the electrons are not
as tightly bound. They are freer to move
● Superconductors are perfect conductors—they have no resistance to electron
flow
● resistor allows electric current to pass, but provides resistance to it. This limits
the amount of current. For any given voltage, more current flows through a
resistor with a low resistance than through one with a high resistance
Series vs Parallel
● circuit in which the current passes through each bulb in turn is called a series
circuit. In a series circuit, there is only one pathway for the current
○ If that pathway is interrupted, the whole circuit cannot function. The other
problem with series circuits is that adding components increases the total
resistance of the circuit. This decreases the current. Thus, adding an extra
bulb to a series string of lights makes all the bulbs dimmer.
● Parallel circuits have a separate current path for each section of the circuit
○ An interruption or break in one pathway does not affect the rest of the
pathways in the circuit. Similarly, adding a new pathway with more
resistors does not affect the resistance in any of the other pathways. In
 fact, adding extra resistors in parallel decreases the total resistance of the
circuit
○ remember that adding more paths for the current to take means less total
resistance
Transformation
● Scientists have found that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Energy does
not just appear or disappear—it can only be transformed from one form to
another. This fundamental principle is known as the law of conservation of
energy.
● However, we usually find that the output energy of a device or system is smaller
than the input energy, sometimes much smaller. Most often, the missing energy
is lost or dissipated as heat
● This means energy converted from one form to another
Efficiency
● efficiency of a device is the ratio of the useful energy that comes out of a device
to the total energy that went in
Power
● Power is the rate at which a device converts energy. The unit of power is the watt
AC/DC
● “direct” current because the electricity flows in only one direction
● “alternating” because it flows back and forth 60 times per second
Transformers
● Power companies generate AC because, with AC, they can use transformers to
change the amount of voltage with hardly any energy loss
Electromagnetic Induction
● demonstrated that electrical current could be generated by moving a conducting
wire through a magnetic field. Faraday moved a magnet back and forth inside a
coil of wire that was connected to a meter that could detect small electric
currents.
Generators
● principle of electromagnetic induction is used in large-scale power plants.
Massive coils of wire rotating in huge generators produce enough electricity to
power whole cities. Such generators provide the electricity we use every day
Motors
● - power source = wires connect the motor to source of electricity
(generator, battery)
● - brushes = Metal pieces that conduct electrical energy from the source to
the commutator
● - commutator = attached to the axle and the armature, the commutator
rotates. as it turns, the axle turns. the commutator is responsible for reversing the
 flow of electrons in the wires when the gaps are not in contact with the metal
brushes, thus changing the direction of the current
● - permanent magnets
● - electromagnet
● - axle: metal rod that uses mechanical energy to perform a specific
function
● - wires conduct electricity to brushes which leafs to commutator
● - as long as brushes are in contact with metal portion of commutator, the elctrical
current flows in the right direction
● - when current flows down armature the electromagnet becomes magnetized and
repels permanent magnets
● - brushes come in contact with gaps
● - current stops and reverses, changing poles on eloectromagnet
● - this causes electromagnet to repel again, away from permanent magnets,
continuing spinning cycle