CHAPTER 16

Static Electricity

© 2013 Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Private Limited

Chapter 16 Electrostatics

16.1 Electrostatics
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics
16.3 Electric Field
16.4 Hazards and Applications of
Electrostatics
16.1 Electrostatics

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
• state that there are positive and negative charges,
and that charge is measured in coulombs (C);
• state that like charges repel and unlike charges
attract;
• describe and explain how electrostatic charging of
insulators occurs.
16.1 Electrostatics

Activity (Group)
Objective
Observe electrostatics in action.
Instructions
Some groups will be given balloons, while other groups
will be given a plastic sheet and a sheet of A4 paper.
• Balloon
1. Inflate the balloon given and rub it against your hair.
2. Place the balloon a distance away from your hair.
3. What do you observe?
• Plastic sheet and A4 paper
1. Rub the A4 paper against the plastic sheet.
2. Try to slide the two sheets apart.
3. What do you observe?
16.1 Electrostatics

What are Electric Charges?

• Matter is made up of atoms.
• Atoms are made of neutrons, protons and electrons.
• If electrons are
removed, the atom
becomes positively
charged.
• If electrons are
added, the atom
becomes negatively
charged.
• If the numbers of electrons and protons are
equal, the atom is in the neutral state.
16.1 Electrostatics

How do Positive and Negative

Charges Interact?

• Like charges repel

+ +

• Unlike charges attract

+ –
16.1 Electrostatics

Measuring Electric Charges

• The SI unit of electric charge is the coulomb (C).

• The amount of charge carried by an electron is
1.6 × 10–19 C.
• In other words, there are
1C
= 6.25 × 10 18
electrons in 1 C of charge!
1.6 × 10 C
–19
16.1 Electrostatics

Electrical Insulators and Conductors

Electrical Electrical
insulators conductors
Motion of Charged particles are
Charged particles are
charged free to move about
not free to move
particles
about
Ability to
conduct Low High
electricity
Method of
charging By friction (rubbing) By induction

Glass, Perspex, silk, Copper, steel, fluids

Examples with mobile charged
wool
particles
16.1 Electrostatics

Electrostatic Charging by Friction

• Electrostatics is the study of static electric charges.
• Some materials, like silk and glass, gain static
charges when they are rubbed together.
• When the two objects in the diagram below are
rubbed together, electrons move from the glass rod
to the silk cloth.
16.1 Electrostatics

Electrostatic Charging by Friction

• The electrons transferred are not able to move

freely in the silk cloth.
• They remain at the surface where the silk cloth was
rubbed.
• Materials in which electrons do not move freely are
called insulators.
• Insulators are charged by friction (e.g. rubbing).
 16.1 Electrostatics

Electrostatic Charging by Friction

with

Glass rod Silk

Fur Ebonite rod

Rubbing Direction of
Perspex rod Wool electron
transfer
Wool Polythene

Hair Rubber balloon

Positively charged Negatively charged

Chapter 16 Electrostatics

16.1 Electrostatics
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics
16.3 Electric Field
16.4 Hazards and Applications of
Electrostatics
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics

Learning Outcome
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
• describe the process of electrostatic charging
of conductors by induction.
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics

Charging Conductors by Induction

• Induction is a method of charging in which a

conductor is charged without contact with the
charging body.
• Conductors cannot be charged by friction because
mobile electrons can be easily transferred to and
away from conductors.
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics

Charging Conductors by Induction

Charging two metal spheres by induction

1 Two metal spheres (conductors) are

placed side by side. They are touching
each other.

2 • A negatively-charged rod is brought

near, but not touching, sphere A.
• Electrons in both spheres A and B are
repelled to the far end of sphere B.
• Sphere A has excess positive
charges, while sphere B has excess
negative charges.
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics

Charging Conductors by Induction

Charging two metal spheres by induction

3 Sphere B is moved away so

that it no longer touches
sphere A.

4 • The charged rod is removed.

• Sphere A is now positively
charged and sphere B
negatively charged.
• Spheres A and B have an equal
number of opposite charges.
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics

Charging Conductors by Induction

Charging a single metal conductor by induction
1 • A positively-charged rod is brought
near, but not touching, the metal
conductor.
• Electrons in the conductor are drawn
towards the end near the positively-
charged rod.

2 • The positively-charged end

of the conductor is earthed
when a person touches it.
• Electrons move from earth to
the conductor through the
person.
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics

Charging Conductors by Induction

Charging a single metal conductor by induction

3 • With the charged rod still in

place, the person’s hand is
removed.
• The earthing process is stopped.

4 • The charged rod is removed.

• The electrons in the conductor
redistribute throughout the
conductor.
• The conductor is now negatively
charged.
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics

Neutralising Charged Insulators

• A charged object is neutralised by discharging
the excess charges on it.
• Insulators can be discharged through heating or
by providing humid conditions.

• The heat from the flame ionises the

surrounding air particles.
• The ions neutralise the excess
charges on the glass rod.
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics

Neutralising Charged Conductors

• A charged object is neutralised by discharging
the excess charges on it.
• Conductors can be discharged by earthing.
• When we earth a charged conductor, we provide
a path for
– excess electrons to flow away from the
charged conductor, or
– electrons to flow to the charged conductor.
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics

Worked Example
The figure below shows a negatively-charged conductor
suspended from a string. When it is brought near the metal
plate connected to the ammeter, a quick deflection is seen on
the ammeter.
(a) Why does the charged conductor have to be suspended
on a string?
(b) Explain why a deflection is seen.

− −
− −
− − A
− −
− −
metal plate
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics

Solution
(a) The charged conductor has to be suspended on a
string so that the charges on it are not lost through
contact with another surface.
(b) When the negatively-charged conductor is brought
near the metal plate, the negative charges on the
plate are repelled. Since the plate is connected to
earth, the negative charges are transferred to the
ground.
Chapter 16 Electrostatics

16.1 Electrostatics
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics
16.3 Electric Field
16.4 Hazards and Applications of
Electrostatics
16.3 Electric Field

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
• state what an electric field is;
• draw electric field patterns.
16.3 Electric Field
Recall
Previously, when we rubbed a balloon
against a person’s hair, we observed that
the hair was attracted to the balloon.
There were attractive forces between
them.

negatively-charged positively-charged
balloon hair

If both objects had the same charge, there would

be a repulsive force pushing the two objects
away from each other.
16.3 Electric Field

• The force experienced by the charges is an

electric force.
• The force is experienced without the charges
being in contact with each other.
• The region in which a charge experiences a force
is called the electric field.

An electric force is the attractive or repulsive

force that electric charges exert on one another.

An electric field is a region in which an electric

charge experiences an electric force.
16.3 Electric Field

Representing Electric Fields

• An electric field can be illustrated with
– electric field lines, and
– arrowheads to indicate the direction of the
electric field.

The direction of an electric field is the direction of

the force that would act on a small positive charge.
16.3 Electric Field

Representing Electric Fields

If you place small positive test charges around
a positive charge, what would happen?
F

F
F + + +

+
Electric field lines
of a positive charge
F
 16.3 Electric Field

Representing Electric Fields

The strength of an electric field is indicated by how
close the field lines are to one another.

• The electric field lines here
are closer together.
• This indicates that the
electric field in this region is
stronger.
• The electric field lines here
are farther apart.
• This indicates that the
electric field in this region is
weaker.
16.3 Electric Field

Worked Example
How would the field lines of two positive charges
placed close together look?

Solution
16.3 Electric Field

Representing Electric Fields

Electric field lines of parallel plates

• The electric field lines start

from the positively-charged
plate and end at the
negatively-charged plate.
• The field is uniform near the
middle of the plates.
Chapter 16 Electrostatics

16.1 Electrostatics
16.2 Principles of Electrostatics
16.3 Electric Field
16.4 Hazards and Applications of

Electrostatics
16.4 Hazards and Applications

of Electrostatics

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
• describe situations in which electrostatic
charging may be dangerous;
• describe how electrostatic charging is used in
photocopiers and other applications.
16.4 Hazards and Applications

of Electrostatics
Hazards of Electrostatics
Lightning
• Thunderclouds are charged by friction between
water molecules in the thunderclouds and air
molecules in the atmosphere.
• Negative charges
accumulate at the
bottom of the clouds.
• These repel the
electrons near the
surface of the Earth,
causing the surface of
the Earth to be
positively charged.
16.4 Hazards and Applications

of Electrostatics
Hazards of Electrostatics
Lightning
• When the accumulation of charges is large, the air
particles nearby are ionised.

• The ionised air particles

provide a conducting
path for the electrons in
the clouds to reach the
Earth.
• When the electrons
travel down the
conducting path to the
Earth, lightning forms.
16.4 Hazards and Applications

of Electrostatics
Hazards of Electrostatics
Electrostatic discharge
• Excessive charges may build up on objects due
to friction.
• Electronic equipment, such as computer boards
and hard drives, can be easily damaged by
electrostatic discharge.
• Such equipment are usually packed in antistatic
packaging.
16.4 Hazards and Applications

of Electrostatics
Applications of Electrostatics
Photocopiers
Photocopiers use static electricity to produce copies
of documents.
1
• The metal drum inside the
photocopier is coated with
selenium.
• Selenium is a photoconductor
— it only conducts electricity in
the presence of light.
• The drum’s surface is charged
positively by a charged wire.
16.4 Hazards and Applications

of Electrostatics
Applications of Electrostatics
Photocopiers
2
• The original image to be
photocopied is placed on a
sheet of clear glass above the
drum.
• An intense light beam is shone
onto the image.
• The darker areas of the image reflect less light and
therefore, the corresponding regions on the drum
remain positively charged.
• The regions on the drum corresponding to the lighter
areas of the image are discharged by the light beam.
16.4 Hazards and Applications

of Electrostatics
Applications of Electrostatics
Photocopiers
3 The drum continues turning,
and the positively-charged
image on the drum attracts
the negatively-charged toner
powder.

4 • A positively-charged sheet of paper

is passed over the drum’s surface.
• The paper attracts the negatively-
charged toner and the image is
formed on the paper.
• The paper is heated and pressed to
fuse the toner powder to the paper
permanently.
16.4 Hazards and Applications

of Electrostatics
Applications of Electrostatics
• Electrostatic precipitator
• Spray painting
• Crop sprayers

electrostatic precipitator
 Chapter 16 Static Electricity
Static Electricity
is the study of

poses hazards have

Static charges such as applications in
(SI unit: C)
• Lightning
• Photocopying
can be strikes
categorised into • Electrostatic and laser
printing
• Like discharge
interact as • Fly ash
charges follows: removal
repel Positive and set up Electric • Spray painting
• Unlike negative charges fields • Crop sprayers
charges are produced on can be
attract the surfaces of represented by

Electric field lines

Electrical Electrical
• directed away from
conductors insulators
a positive charge
through through
• directed towards a
Induction Friction negative charge
Chapter 16 Static Electricity

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Acknowledgements
(slides 1−43) lightning © Zergkind | Dreamstime.com
(slides 35, 36) lightning © EL Caballero | Wikimedia Commons |
CC-BY-SA-3