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Chapter 1
Electric Charge, Coulomb’s Law, and Electric Fields

Electrons, electricity, electronic and other words that begin with "electr..." all originate
from the Greek word "elektor," meaning "beaming sun." In Greek, "elektron" is the word for
amber. the glasslike stone discovered by Thales, a Greek philosopher and scientist. Amber is a
very pretty goldish brown "stone" that sparkles orange and yellow in sunlight

Thales observed that a piece of amber attracted small bits of paper or very thin wood
shavings after it was rubbed with wool. He discovered static electricity. In sixteenth century, an
English scientist William Gilbert found that many other different materials could be made to act
like amber. Whenever these objects were rubbed against each other, they were able to attract
other light objects. He called this strange behavior electricity.

Electricity is the flow of electrical power or charge. It is a secondary energy source which
means that we get it from the conversion of other sources of energy, like coal, natural gas, oil,
nuclear power and other natural sources, which are called primary sources.

1.2 Electricity and Matter

Electricity figures everywhere in our lives. Electricity lights up our homes, cooks our
food, powers our computers, television sets, and other electronic devices. Electricity from
batteries keeps our cars running and makes our flashlights shine in the dark.

But what is electricity? Where does it come from? How does it work? Before we
understand all that, we need to know a little bit about atoms and their structure.

In order to understand how electric charge moves from one atom to another, we need to
know something about atoms. Everything in the universe is made of atoms—every star, every
tree, every animal.

Atoms are the building blocks of the universe. Atoms are made of even smaller particles.
The three main particles making up an atom are the proton, the neutron and the electron.

The center of an atom is called the nucleus. It is made of particles called protons and
neutrons. The protons and neutrons are very small, but electrons are much, much smaller.
Electrons spin around the nucleus in shells a great distance from the nucleus.

Figure 1.1 Structure of an Atom

(source:www.yahoo.com)
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Electrons spin around the center, or nucleus, of atoms, in the same way the moon spins
around the earth. The nucleus is made up of neutrons and protons. Electrons contain a negative
charge, protons a positive charge. Neutrons are neutral -- they have neither a positive nor a
negative charge.

The number of proton inside the nucleus of atom is equal to the number of electrons
spinning around the nucleus. So, if an atom had six protons, it should also have six electrons.
The element with six protons and six electrons is called carbon. Carbon is found in abundance in
the sun, stars, comets, atmospheres of most planets, and the food we eat. Coal is made of carbon;
so are diamonds

In a chemical reaction, some atoms loose electrons. An atom that loses electrons has
more protons than electrons and is positively charged. An atom that gains electrons has more
negative particles and is negatively charge. A "charged" atom is called an "ion."

When objects are in contact electrons move from one atom to another as these electrons
move between the atoms, a current of electricity is created. The electrons move from one atom to
another in a "flow."

If the outer shell of an atom is unstable, the atom tends to attract or donate electrons.
Atom that loses electron has more protons on its nucleus so it has a "positive charge" (+). Atom
that received electron has a “negative charge” (-) because it has more electrons than protons.
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1.3 Electricity and Electric Charge

Electricity is one of the basic forms of energy. Electricity is associated with electric
charge, a property of certain elementary particles such as electrons and protons, two of the basic
particles that make up the atoms of all ordinary matter. Electric charges can be stationary, as in
static electricity, or moving, as in an electric current.
Electric charge comes in two forms: positive and negative. If an object has more protons
than electrons, it is said to be positively charged; if it has more electrons than protons, it is said
to be negatively charged.
An atom that loses electrons has more positive charges (protons) than negative charges
(electrons). It is positively charged. It is called Cation. An atom that gains electrons has more
negative than positive particles. It has a negative charge. It is called anion. A charged atom is
called an "ion."

FigureLike
1.2 charges
Electric Charge
repel, opposite charge attract

If two things have different charges, they attract, or pull towards each other. If two things have
the same charge, they repel, or push away from each other. This is shown in figure 1.2

1.4 Forms of Electricity

Electricity has been moving in the world forever. Lightning is a form of electricity. It is
electrons moving from one cloud to another or jumping from a cloud to the ground.

Electricity occurs in two forms: static electricity and electric current. Static electricity
consists of electric charges that stay in one place. An electric current is a flow of electric charges
between objects or locations.

The flow of charge is called the current and it is the rate at which electric charges pass
through a conductor. The charged particle can be either positive or negative.

1.4.1 Static Electricity

Static electricity can be produced by rubbing together two objects made of different
materials. Electrons move from the surface of one object to the surface of the other if the second
material holds onto its electrons more strongly than the first does. The object that gains electrons
becomes negatively charged, since it now has more electrons than protons. The object that gives
up electrons becomes positively charged. For example, if a nylon comb is run through clean, dry
hair, some of the electrons on the hair are transferred to the comb. The comb becomes negatively
charged and the hair becomes positively charged.

Scientists have ranked materials in order of their ability to hold or give up electrons. This
ranking is called the triboelectric series. A list of some common materials is shown here. Under
ideal conditions, if two materials are rubbed together, the one higher on the list should give up
electrons and become positively charged.
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TRIBOELECTRIC SERIES
Your hand
glass
your hair
nylon
wool
fur
silk
paper
cotton
hard rubber
polyester
polyvinylchloride plastic

An electroscope is used to detect the presence of electric charges, to determine whether

these charges are positive or negative, and to measure and indicate their intensity.

Calculating the Charge of a Substance or an Object

Like mass, the charge of an object is a measurable quantity. The charge possessed by an
object is often expressed using the scientific unit known as the Coulomb. Just as mass is
measured in grams or kilograms, charge is measured in units of Coulombs (abbreviated C).

The charge on a single electron is -1.6 x 10 -19 Coulomb.

The charge on a single proton is +1.6 x 10 -19 Coulomb.

To calculate the charge of a substance, multiply the number of excess e - or p+ with the charge of
a single electron or proton
Where: q, is the charge of a substance
q= n x e n, is the excess charge of e- or p+
e, charge of a single electron or proton

In chemistry, the number of ions gained or lost is represented with a superscript.

Example Sulfide ion (S-2). This means it has two extra electrons. To determine the charge of
this ion in coulombs, multiply the number of excess electrons (n) by the charge on one electron
(e).
q =nxe
= 2 e ( -1.6 x 10 -19 C / e)
= - 3.2 x 10-19 C
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Sample Problem

1. Determine the charge in coulombs of an ion of Aluminum, Al+3

Given: number of extra protons (n) = 3

Required: q

Solution: q = n x e
= 3 p (+1.60x10 -19 C/ p) = +4.80 x 10-19C

2. A woman walks across a carpet and obtains a charge of -4.56 x 10-16 C. How many
excess electrons does this represent?

Given: q = -4.56 x 10-16 C e = -1.6 x 10 -19 C

Required: number of electrons (n)

Solution: n = q/e
= -4.56 x 10-16 C / -1.6 x 10 -19 C/e
= 2, 850 e
3. How many electrons would have to be removed from a penny to leave it with a
charge of 1.0×10 -7 C?

Given : q = 1.0 x 10—7 C

Required: No. of electrons

−7
q 1.0 x 10 C
Solutions: n = = −19 C /e = 6.2 × 10
11
e
e 1.6 x 10

1.5 Conductors and Insulators

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A conductor is a material through which an electric charge is readily transferred. Most metals
are good conductors. At normal temperature, silver is the best solid conductor, copper and
aluminum follows.

An insulator is a material through which electric charge is not readily transferred. Good
insulators are such poor conductors that for practical purposes they are considered to be non
conductors. Glass, paraffin, hard rubber, sulfur, silk, asbestos, and many plastics are good
insulators.

Examples of Electrical

Conductors Silver
Gold Copper
Aluminum Mercury
Steel Iron
Seawater

Examples of Insulators

Glass rubber
Oil asphalt
Fiberglass porcelain
Ceramic quartz

1.6 Coulomb’s Law

Charles-Augustin de Coulomb invented a device, that allowed him to measure very small
charges and experimentally estimate the force of attraction or repulsion between two charged
bodies. Objects with opposite charges attract each other, and objects with similar charges repel
each other.

Augustin de Coulomb formulated Coulomb’s law, This law states that “the force between
two charged objects is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between them”.

The greater the charges on the objects, the larger the force between them; the greater the
distance between the objects, the lesser the force between them. The unit of electric charge, also
named after Coulomb, is equal to the combined charges of 6.24 × 10 18 protons (or electrons).
Mathematically Coulombs Law is expressed as,

Q1 Q2 Where: F, is the force between two point charges

F = k ---------- Q1 and Q2, are the charge in coulombs
d2 d, is the distance between two point charges
K, is the proportionality constant and it is
approximately equal to 9X10 9 N m2/ C2
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Coulomb died on August 23, 1806. He was honored by the adoption of an SI unit of
electric charge bearing his name. The unit Coulomb.

The coulomb (C) is equivalent to the charge transferred by a current of 1 ampere in 1

1 Ampere
second. ( 1 C = or 1 C = 1 A/sec).
1 sec

Video References: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCp5yYjo9zE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmMX3N3dNwY

Sample Problem

1. If two charged bodies each with 0.1 coulomb (C) are placed 5 m apart, what will
be the force between them? Considering k = 9X109 N m2/ C2

Given: Q1 = 0.1 C Q2 = 0.1 C d = 5m k = 9X109 N m2/ C2

Required: F =?
❑
Q1 Q2 9 X 109 Nm 2 /C 2 ( 0.1C )( 0.1 C )
Solution: F = k 2 = 2 = 3.6 X 10 6 N
d 5m

Exercises: Solve the following problems as indicated

1. Determine the charge in coulombs of an ion of Indium, In+3

2. A man walks across a carpet and obtains a charge of - 3.23 x 10 -16 C. How many
excess electrons does this represent?
2. How many protons would have to be removed from a penny to leave it with a charge of
2.30 × 10 -7 C?
3. If two charged bodies each with 0.1 coulomb (C) are placed 5 m apart, what will be the
force between them? Considering k = 9X109 N m2/ C2
4. One charge of 2 C is 1.5 m away from a -3 C charge. Determine the force they exert on
each other.
5. A negative charge of – 200 µC and a positive charge of 800 µC are separated by a
distance of 30 cm. What is the force between the two charges?
(1 µC = 1.0 x 10 – 6 C)

6. How far apart are the two charges one of magnitude 3 µC and the other is 5 µC, if
the force between them is 20 N? (1 µC = 1.0 x 10 – 6 C)

1.6 Types of Charging

There are three methods by which charges can be transferred to build up static electricity:
charging by friction, by conduction, and by induction. Friction involves rubbing on material with
another, resulting in electrons moving from one surface to another.

In the induction process, a charged object is brought near but not touched to a neutral
conducting object. The presence of a charged object near a neutral conductor will force (or
induce) electrons within the conductor to move.
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If a negatively charged object is used to charge a neutral object by induction, then the
neutral object will acquire a positive charge. And if a positively charged object is used to charge
a neutral object by induction, then the neutral object will acquire a negative charge.

Conduction charging involves making the physical connection of the charged object to
the neutral object. Because charging by conduction involves contact, it is often called charging
by contact.

Induction charging is a charging method that charges an object without actually touching the
object to any other charged object. The charging by induction process is where the charged
particle is held near an uncharged conductive material that is grounded on a neutrally charged
material. The charge flows between two objects and the uncharged conductive material develop a
charge with opposite polarity.

Video Reference: Charging by induction

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=763tiBXvTGw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jaGeYXJKgE
https://youtu.be/8jaGeYXJKgE
https://youtu.be/ZvJKdBS-Z4g