Static Electricity Flashcards
Law of Electrical Charges
Like charges repel
Opposite charges attract
A neutral object attracts both positively and negatively charged objects
What are protons?
positive charge and are located in the nucleus
what are neutrons?
a neutral charge and are located in the nucleus
what are electrons?
a negative charge and are located around the nucleus
what is electrical charge?
when an atom has an inbalance electrons and protons
how many electrons and neutrons are there in a POSITIVELY CHARGED object?
have FEWER ELECTRONS than protons
how many electrons and neutrons are there in a NEGATIVELY CHARGED object?
have MORE ELECTRONS than protons
how many electrons and neutrons are there in a NEUTRALLY CHARGED object?
have an EQUAL NUMBER of protons and electrons
What is static electricity?
Static electricity is an imbalance of electric charge on the surface of an object
when does static electricity accumulate?
Accumulates on an object to form an ELECTRICAL CHARGE
Is static electricity moving or not moving?
static electricity is STATIONARY
Does static electricity move through wires?
NO, static electricty DOES NOT move through wires
What are some examples of static electricity?
During thunderstorms - lighting
when emptying out the dryer - static cling
When different materials are rubbed together or bump into each other a lot, ___________ leave one surface and collect on the other
+ example
ELECTRONS
ex. Socks rubbing against a carpet
Some materials —– electrons and end up with a NEGATIVE charge
GAIN
Some materials —- electrons and end up with a POSITIVE charge
LOSE
What is a electroscope?
a piece of equipment used to detect electrical charges
What are the two different types of electroscopes?
Pith‐Ball Electroscope
Metal Leaf Electroscope
what does a Metal Leaf Electroscope detect?
used to detect electrical charge
how does a Pith‐Ball Electroscope work?
Pith (plant material) is suspended by a thread, bring a charged object near the pith which is neutral. If the object is charged, the pith will be attracted to it
What is the 3 laws of electrical charge?
Like charges repel
Opposite charges attract
A neutral object attracts both positively and negatively charged objects
are most objects are neutral (uncharged) because they have the same number of positive and negative charges?
true!
what two factors affect the force between charged objects?
- Distance
closer = stronger force
far = weaker force
- Amount of charge on each object
smaller charge = weaker force
larger charge = stronger force
What are three methods of charging?
- by friction
- by conduction
- by induction
what happenes when two neutral objects are brought together?
there is NO ATTRACTION
what is an Induced charge separation?
is a shift in the position of electrons in a neutral object that occurs when a charged object is brought near it
what charge will the object be after an induced charge seperation?
Neutral charge
Although there is a shift in the positions of the electrons in the neutral object, it is still neutral – it did not gain or lose electrons.
Is an induced charge seperation permanent or temporary?
temporary
What happens when the object is moved away from the neutral object?
the electrons will return to their normal positions
what happenes when negative charged object is BROUGHT NEAR a metal leaf electroscope?
electrons transfer into the leaves, causing them to repel & spread apart
What happenes when the negative charged object is REMOVED from the metal leaf electroscope?
the metal leaf electroscope is brought back to normal
how do electrostatic paint sprayers work?
- paint is given a charge as it leaves the paint nozzle
- object is given the opposing charge
- charged paint particles will be attracted to the object
What are two common methods of charging by contact?
charging by FRICTION
charging by CONDUCTION
Does charging by Induction involve the objects touching each other?
NO! Charging by Induction DOES NOT involve the objects touching each other.
What is charging objects by friction?
transfer of electrons between two neutral objects (made from different materials)
that occurs when they are rubbed together or come in contact (touch)
In friction which charges would each object have?
One material is more likely to attract extra electrons (become negatively charged)
while the other material is more likely to give up electrons (become positively charged)
How could we know which materials will give away electrons more easily?
using the electrostatic series (also called the triboelectric series)
what is the electrostatic series?
a list of materials arranged in order of their tendency to gain electrons
It is a list of the ABILITY of substances to hold on to their ELECTRONS
USED FOR FRICTION
how can the electrostatic series be determined?
can be used to determine which substances will get a NEGATIVE CHARGE and which will get a POSITIVE CHARGE
What charge will the substance be if
ELECTRONS ARE LOST
(electrostatic series)
If electrons are lost → positive charge
What charge will the substance be if
ELECTRONS ARE GAINED
(electrostatic series)
If electrons are gained → negative charge
When rubbed together, the substance that is closer to the bottom of the electrostatic series will become —-, the one closer to the top will become ——
closer to the bottom becomes - negative
closer to the top becomes - postive
how does conduction work?
Electrons can be passed on between two objects with different amount of electric charge if they touch each other (not rubbed, just touched)
What happenes to an uncharged (neutral) object during conduction?
Uncharged (neutral) objects can become charged if they come into contact with charged objects.
What happens if a negatively charged ebonite rod touched a neutral pith ball during CONDUCTION?
If a negatively charged ebonite rod touches a neutral pith ball, the pith ball will also become negatively charged. The two objects will now have the same charge and will repel each other.
What happenes when an uncharged object is charged with a neutral one during CONDUCTION?
When an uncharged object is charged with a neutral one, it will take on the same charge as the one that touches it.
What happenes when a positvely charged object touches a neutral object?
electrons move to the positively charged object
in the end BOTH end up with SAME overall charge (POSITIVE CHARGE)
what happenes when a negatively charged object touches a neutral object?
electrons will move to the neutral object
in the end BOTH end up with SAME overall charge (NEGATIVE CHARGE)
Can only electrons move?
Yes!! only electrons can move as protons are trapped in the nucleus, so they cannot move
What is grounding?
directing the electricity into the ground with a conductor,
can be a way to protect ourselves against an electric shock