Ch. 5: Electrostatics and Magnetism Flashcards
defn: electrostatics
the study of stationary charges and the forces that are created by and which act upon these changes
what are the two types of charged subatomic particles?
- proton
- electron
defn: proton vs. electron
proton: positive charge
electron: negative charge
defn: attractive vs. repulsive forces
attractive forces: opposite charges
repulsive forces: like charges
is the electrostatic force attractive or repulsive?
can be either depending on the signs of the charges that are interacting
defn: ground
a means of returning charge to the earth
aka: static electricity
static charge buildup
SI unit: charge
coloumb
the proton and the electron share the same magnitude of charge, do they share the same mass?
no, the proton has a much greater mass than the electron
defn: insulator
+ explain on a molecular level
will not easily distribute a charge over its surface and will not transfer that charge to another neutral object very well
molecularly: the electrons of insulators tend to be closely linked with their respective nuclei
defn: conductor
+ explain on a molecular level
when given a charge, the charges will distribute approximately evenly upon the surface of the conductor
are able to transfer and transport charges
molecularly: conceptualized as nuclei surrounded by a sea of free electrons that are able to move rapidly throughout the material and are only loosely associated with the positive charges
what types of materials are generally conductors? what types are generally insulators?
insulators: nonmetals
conductor: metals, ionic (electrolyte) solutions
defn: Coulomb’s law
quantifies the magnitude of the electrostatic force between two charges
how do you determine the direction of the electrostatic force?
remember that unlike charges attract and like charges repel
the force always points along the line connecting the centers of the two charges
where do electric fields come from and how do they make their presence known?
- every electric charge sets up a surrounding electric field, just like every mass creates a gravitational field
- electric fields make their presence known by exerting forces on other charges that move into the space of the field
how is it determined if the force exerted through the electric field is attractive or repulsive?
it depends on whether the stationary TEST charge q and the stationary SOURCE charge Q are opposite or like charges
defn: test charge q vs. source charge Q
test charge = the charge placed in the electric field
source charge = the charge which actually creates the electric field
is the electric field a vector or scalar quantity?
vector
what are the two methods for calculating the magnitude of the electric field at a particular point in space?
- place a test charge q at some point within the electric field, measure the force exerted on that test charge, and define the electric field at that point in space as the ratio of the force magnitude to test charge magnitude
- we need to know the magnitude of the source charge and the distance between the source charge and point in space at which we want to measure the electric field
what is one disadvantage to the first method of calculating the magnitude of the electric field?
a test charge must actually be present in order for a force to be generated and measured
what is the direction of an electric field vector by convention?
the direction that a positive test charge would move in the presence of the source charge
(if the source charge is positive –> test charge experiences repulsive force, accelerate away from source charge)
(if the source charge is negative –> test charge experiences attractive force, accelerate toward the source charge)
based on the convention of electric field direction, what is the direction of electric field vectors for positive and negative charges?
positive charges have electric field vectors that radiate outward (point away) from the charge
negative charges have electric field vectors that radiate inward (point toward) the charge
defn + char: field lines
imaginary lines that represent how a positive test charge would move in the presence of the source charge
they are drawn in the direction of the actual electric field vectors and indicate the relative strength of the electric field at a given point in the space of the field
where the lines are closer together, the field is stronger, where they are farther apart the field is weaker
what is the net electric field equal to at a point in space for a collection of charges?
equal to the vector sum of all the electric fields
what is the direction of the electrostatic force when the test charge is positive? negative?
test charge within a field is positive: the force will be in the same direction as the electric field vector of the source charge
test charge within a field is negative: the force will be in the direction opposite to the field vector of the source charge