ELECTRICITY

Properties of electric charge

● Electric charge is a scalar quantity. It can be of two types
only : positive and negative.
● Like charges repel each other while unlike charges attract each
other.
● Additivity of charge : The total charge of the body is the
algebraic sum of all the individual contributions by various
charges present on it, each being taken with its proper sign.
● Conservation of electric charge : Electric charge can neither
be created nor be destroyed.
● Quantisation of charge : Every charge is an integral multiple
of a certain smallest amount of charge that exists in nature.
This property of charge is called quantisation.Hence, the
charged bodies will have charges which are integral multiples
of the charge on electron
(e = 1.6 × 10 19 C.)
Q=±ne
● Charge is always associated with mass
● Charge is transferable
❖ Conductors and insulators
Electrical conductivity depends on how tightly the electrons
are bound to the nucleus of the atom. Some materials
have electrons that are tightly bound to the nucleus and are
not free to travel within the substance. These materials are
called insulators. Materials that have electrons in the
outermost regions of the atom that are free to travel are
called conductors.
Metals are good conductors as they have large number of
free electrons.

★ How clouds get charged?

During the development of a thunderstorm, the air
currents move upward while the water droplets move
downward. In such a condition, a churning cloud
formation causes water vapour molecules to collide,
resulting in a transfer of electrons between these
molecules. Cooling causes water vapour molecules to
condense into water droplets. The atoms in these
droplets hold onto electrons more readily than atoms in
water vapour, and thus the droplets become negatively
charged. Being heavier, these negatively charged water
 droplets accumulate at the bottom of the cloud, causing
the bottom of the cloud to become negatively charged.
The top of the cloud, containing the rising water vapour,
becomes positively charged.

● Coulombs law : The force of attraction or repulsion between

two point charges q1 and q2 at rest is directly proportional to
the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the
square of the distance r between them and it always acts
along the line joining the charges.

where K is a constant of proportionality sometimes called electrical constant

or Coulombs constant.
For vacuum, the coulombs constant K = 1
—-----------=9 × 109 Nm2 C2
in SI system
4πε0
USES OF STATIC ELECTRICITY

● Photocopier : The electrostatic force that charged particles exert on one another plays

the central role in an office copier. The copying process is called xerography.

● Laser and Inkjet Printer

Electric potential

Electric potential at a point A in an electric field is the work done per unit positive test

charge in transporting it from infinitely far away to the point A

 Current Electricity
Electric current : The rate of flow of electric charge through any
cross-section is called electric current.
●

● Electric current is a scalar quantity

● SI Unit of electric current : Ampere (A) ; 1 Ampere = 1
coulomb / sec = 1 C s-1
● Terminal voltage (V) : It is the potential difference across
the terminals of the source of emf (like battery) in the
external closed circuit