All Flashcards
What is the effect of rubbing a balloon on hair?
Electrons transfer from hair to the balloon, making the balloon negatively charged and the hair positively charged.
What happens when a charged rod touches a neutral metal sphere?
Charge is transferred, and the sphere acquires the same type of charge as the rod.
What is the effect of bringing a positively charged object near a neutral conductor?
Negative charges in the conductor move toward the charged object, and positive charges move away, resulting in charge separation.
What happens when you ground a negatively charged object?
Excess electrons flow from the object to the Earth, neutralizing the object.
What is the effect of increasing the distance between two charged objects?
The electrostatic force between them decreases (inversely proportional to the square of the distance, according to Coulomb's Law).
What are the differences between charging by contact and charging by induction?
Contact: Requires direct touch, transfers charge | Induction: No direct touch, causes charge separation and may require grounding.
Compare and contrast conductors and insulators in the context of charging.
Conductors: Allow charges to move freely | Insulators: Resist the movement of charges.
What are the key differences between attraction and repulsion in electrostatics?
Attraction: Occurs between opposite charges | Repulsion: Occurs between like charges.
What are the differences between charging by friction and induced charge separation?
Friction: Requires rubbing and direct contact, results in net charge on both objects | Induced Charge Separation: No direct contact, results in temporary charge polarization without a net charge.
Compare the effects of grounding a positively charged object versus a negatively charged object.
Positively Charged: Electrons flow from the ground to the object, neutralizing it | Negatively Charged: Electrons flow from the object to the ground, neutralizing it.
What is 'charging' in electrostatics?
Charging is the process of redistributing electrons between objects, not creating charge.
Define 'conservation of charge'.
The total charge in an isolated system remains constant; charge is neither created nor destroyed, only transferred.
What is 'grounding'?
Connecting a charged object to the Earth, allowing excess charge to flow away and neutralize the object.
Define 'induced charge separation'.
The shift of charges within a neutral object when a charged object is brought nearby, creating a polarized object without direct contact.
What does it mean for an object to be 'polarized'?
An object is polarized when its charges have been separated, creating regions of positive and negative charge within the object.