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Lecture 1
Electric charge
Conductors & Insulators
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What we call electric charge is a material property; it is not
a substance.
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There are two kinds of electric charge: positive and
negative.
A body is electrically neutral if the sum of all the charges
in the body are zero.
Charge is a conserved quantity.
Properties of charge
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Charge can move through matter.
The elementary unit of charge is e = 1.60210
19
C.
The charge on the electron is e.
The charge on the proton is +e.
The charge on the neutron is 0e.
The charge of a body is quantized.
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Experiments show that like charges will repel each other
and opposite charges will attract each other.
The force between charges decreases with distance.
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An object can become polarized if the
charges within it can be separated.
+
+
+
+
+ -
-
-
-
-
This body is electrically neutral.
By holding a
charged rod near
the body, it can
be polarized.
+
+ +
+
+
-
-
-
-
-
+ +
+ +
+
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+ +
+ +
+
An uncharged ball hangs from a string. If a positively charged
rod is brought near the ball what happens?
Is the result the same or different if the rod is negatively
charged?
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Question: I hand you an object, how can you determine if it
has positive charge, negative charge, or is neutral?
Question: Suppose there is a third type of charge. What
test(s) would reveal if an object had this third type of charge?
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A conductor is made of material that allows electric
charge to move through it easily.
An insulator is made of material that does not allow
electric charge to move through it.
Conductors and Insulators
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Conductors are easily polarized. These materials have free
electrons which are able to move around inside the material.
Any charges that are placed on a conductor will arrange
themselves in a stable distribution. This stable situation is
called electrostatic equilibrium.
Properties of conductors
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An uncharged conductor is
placed next to an uncharged ball.
What happens to the ball when a charged rod is brought
near the conductor?
What about when an insulating rod replaces the conductor?
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Example: Estimate the number of electrons in a typical
human.
Assume m = 75 kg and that the body is composed entirely
of water.
moles 4170
g/mole 18
g 10 75
person typical a in water of moles
3
=

=
( )
molecules 10 5 . 2
mole
molecules 10 0 . 6
mole 4170 person typical a in molecules water
27
23
=

=
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Example continued
( )
electrons 10 5 . 2
molecule
electrons 10
molecules 10 5 . 2 person typical a in electrons
28
27
=

=
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Summary
Properties of charge
Properties of conductors/insulators
Charge polarization