Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Charges, atoms and electrons

• All substances are made up of atoms, which consist of a nucleus
containing positively charged particles called protons and surrounded
by an equal number of negatively charged electrons.
• Protons are positively charged and electrons are negatively charged.
Neutrons are neutral; they have no charge.
• In the normal atom, the charges on a proton and an electron are equal
and opposite so an atom as a whole is normally electrically neutral, i.e.
has no net charge.
• Hydrogen is the simplest atom with one proton and one electron.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

An atom has an equal number of electrons and protons; it is electrically

balanced. An atom becomes charged when the number of electrons or
protons is not equal. This occurs when electrons are removed from or
added to the atom.
If electrons are removed, the atom becomes positively charged.
If electrons are added, the atom becomes negatively charged.
An atom that is charged is called an ion.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

How do positive and negative charges interact?

When charges are brought together, they interact in a particular manner,
like charges repel and unlike charges attract.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

• Repulsive force and attractive force are two kinds of electric forces. The
closer the charges, the greater the electric forces acting between them.
• The force between electric charges decreases as their separation
increases.
• The electric charge is measured in coulombs (C).
• The amount of charge carried by an electron or a proton is 1.6 × 10-19 C.

How many electrons do you think are needed to produce a 1C charge?

Since one electron carries a charge of 1.6 × 10-19 C,

1
1C = = 6.25 × 10 18 electrons to make a charge of 1C.
1.6 × 10−19
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Conductors and insulators

Conductors are materials that let electrons pass through them. Metals are
the best electrical conductors. Some of their electrons so loosely held to
their atoms that they can pass freely between them. These free electrons
make metals good electrical conductor.

Insulators are materials that hardly conduct at all. The electrons in the
insulators are tightly held to atoms and are not free to move although they
can be transferred by rubbing. Insulators are easy to charge by rubbing
because any electrons that get transferred tend to stay where they are.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Electrical insulators and conductors

Materials can be classified as electrical insulators or electrical conductors according to
their properties.
Electrical Insulators Electrical Conductors

Motion of charged Charged particles are not free to Charged particles are free to
particles move about. move about.
Ability to conduct Low High
electricity
Method of charging By friction_When electrical By induction
insulators become charged, the
electrons remain at the surface
where the material has been
rubbed.

Examples Glass, Perspex, silk, wool Copper, iron, steel, graphite, and
fluids (i.e. liquids and gases) that
contain mobile charged particles
(i.e. ions or electrons)
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Charging processes
Electrostatic is the study of static electric charges. There are two simple ways
to acquire static charges (i) charging by rubbing and (ii) charging by induction.
(i) Charging by rubbing
In rubbing process, friction transfers charged particles from one body to
another.
If two objects are rubbed together, the objects acquire equal and opposite
charges and an attractive force develops between them.
The object that loses electrons becomes positively charged and the other that
gains electrons becomes negatively charged.
(ii) Charging by induction
In an induction process, a neutral object can be charged with a charged object
without having a direct contact.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Electrostatic charging by friction

• Electrostatics is the study of static electric charges.
• Some materials such as glass and silk, acquire electric charges when
they are rubbed together. This is because rubbing transfers electrons
from one material to another.
• The eletrons transferred are unable to move about freely within the
material and they remain at the surface where the material has been
rubbed.
• Materials in which electrons are not free to move about are electrical
insulators. Electrical insulators do not conduct electricity, and are
charged by friction.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Electrostatic charging by friction

Before rubbing, the glass rod and the piece of silk are electrically neutral, i.e. they
each contain an equal number of protons and electrons.
Different materials have different affinities for electrons, i.e. some materials attract
electrons weakly, whereas others attract electrons strongly.
When the glass rod and the piece of silk are rubbed together, the atoms at their
surfaces are disturbed.
Some electrons from the atoms at the surface of the galss rod are transferred to the
piece of silk.
As the glass rod loses electrons, it becomes positively charged. As the piece of silk
gains electrons, it becomes negatively charged.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Some pairs of materials and the charges they acquire when rubbed together.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Charging conductors by induction

Induction is the process of charging a conductor without contact between
the conductor and the charging body.
Conductor can be charged by induction, but not by friction, as mobile
electrons can be easily transferred to and away from conductors.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Charging two metal spheres by induction

Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Charging a single metal conductor by induction

Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Neutralizing charges

Removing excess charges from a charged body is called discharging or

neutralizing.

Charged conductors can be neutralized by earthing. Earthing is a

process of providing a pathway for excess electrons to leak away and
become neutralized.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Gold-leaf electroscope
An electroscope is an instrument that detects the presence of electric charges.
The brass cap, brass rod, and gold leaves are electrical conductors. In an
uncharged electroscope, the gold leaves are parallel. However, when a positively-
charged rod is placed near the brass cap, the gold leaves diverge.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

When a positively-charged glass rod is placed near the brass cap, negative charges
are induced on the brass cap, due to the flow of electrons from the gold leaves to
the brass cap. Since both gold leaves are positively charged, they repel each other.

When a negatively-charged glass rod is placed near the brass cap, it repels the
negatively charged electrons on the plate pushing them down onto the gold leaf
and the bottom of the rod. These like charges repel and the leaf again moves
upwards.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Uses of static electricity

Inkjet printers

In an inkjet printer tiny drops of ink are forced out of a

fine nozzle, charged electrostatically and then passed
between two oppositely charged plates; a negatively
charged drop will be attracted towards the positive plate
causing it to be deflected as shown in Figure. The amount
of deflection and hence the position at which the ink
strikes the page is determined by the charge on the drop
and the p.d. between the plates; both of these are
controlled by a computer. About 100 precisely located
drops are needed to make up an individual letter but very
fast printing speeds can be achieved.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Photocopiers
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Photocopiers

A statically charged drum is exposed to light, reflected from the document to

be copied, which discharges the drum everywhere except where the dark
print does not reflect light. The charged parts of the drum attract the toner
which is then transferred to the printing paper. Heat then bonds the toner
particles to the printing paper.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Electrostatic precipitators

The small particles of soot and other dust produced in burning waste materials are
given a static charge and are then passed through a highly charged grid which
attracts the dust particles, stopping them from escaping into the atmosphere.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Paint spraying

The tiny droplets of paint are given a static charge and the object to be painted is
connected to a supply of opposite charge. This causes the paint droplets to be
attracted to the object being painted and the amount of paint wasted is drastically
reduced and a more even finish is produced.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Danger of static electricity

Electric shocks

Cars become charged with static electricity, particularly on dry days and can
give an unpleasant shock when someone touches the car.

Fueling tankers and aircrafts

When fueling, it is possible for static charge to build up on planes or tankers

and would a spark occur, a fire or explosion could result. This is prevented by
the tanker or plane is electrically earthed to discharge them.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Danger of static electricity

Handling microprocessors and computer chips

Workers handling electronic components must take care not to become charged
by static as this can easily destroy expensive components. They wear earthing
straps and work on earthed metal benches to prevent this.

Lightning

In a thunderstorm, the clouds are charged by friction with air current. Due to
the huge amount of charges on the cloud, the lightning flash produced is so
powerful that it can burn forests, damage houses and kill people.
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

Electric field and field lines

Electric field

An electric field is a region in which an electric charge experiences a force.

Electric field lines

An electric line of force is a line along which a positive charge moves.

Uniform electric field

positively charged
conducting sphere a point charge
Dr Aye Myint Moh IGCSE (Physics)

• The electric lines of force do not really exist. They are imaginary lines.
• The direction of field lines are taken to be the direction of the force exerted on a
positive charge placed in that field. The field lines are closer together where the
field is stronger and vice versa.
• A uniform electric field is represented by uniformly spaced parallel lines of the
same length. The arrows indicate the direction of the electric field.
• An electrical neutral point is a point in space where a point charge does not feel
a force when it is placed there.