CH.

27 Short Questions

3. A charged rod attracts bits of dry cork dust, which, after touching the
rod, often jump violently away from it. Explain.
6. A charged insulator can be discharged by passing it just above a flame.
Explain how.
7. If you rub a coin briskly between your fingers, it will not seem to become
charged by friction. Why?
9. Why do electrostatic experiments not work well on humid days?
10.Why is it recommended that you touch the metal frame of your personal
computer before installing any internal accessories?
11. An insulated rod is said to carry an electric charge. How could you
verify this and determine the sign of the charge?
14. A person standing on an insulating stool touches a charged insulated
conductor. Is the conductor discharged completely?
16.Explain what is meant by the statement that electrostatic forces obey
the principle of superposition.
17.Is the electric force that one charge exerts on another changed if other
charges are brought nearby?
18. A solution of copper sulfate is a conductor. What particles serve as
the charge carriers in this case?
20. Would it have made any important difference if Benjamin Franklin had
chosen, in effect, to call electrons positive and protons negative?
22.Explain how an atomic nucleus can be stable if it is composed of
particles that are either neutral (neutrons) or carry like charges (protons).
23 . An electron (charge = —e) circulates around a helium nucleus
(charge =+2e) in a helium atom. Which particle exerts the larger force on
the other?
26. The quantum of charge is 1.60 X 10 C. Is there a corresponding
quantum of mass?
27. What does it mean to say that a physical quantity is (a) quantized or
(b) conserved? Give some examples.
29. How do we know that electrostatic forces are not the cause of
gravitational attraction, between the Earth and Moon, for example?
CH 28 short questions
1. Name as many scalar fields and vector fields as you can.

4. In exploring electric fields with a test charge, we have often assumed,

for convenience, that the test charge was positive. Does this really make
any difference in determining the field? Illustrate in a simple case of your
own devising.

5. Electric lines of force never cross. Why?

7. A point charge is moving in an electric field at right angles to the lines

of force. Does any force act on it?

9. What is the origin of “static cling,” a phenomenon that sometimes

affects clothes as they are removed from a dryer?

10. Two point charges of unknown magnitude and sign are a distance d
apart. The electric field is zero at one point between them, on the line
joining them. What can you conclude about the charges?

15. A point charge q of mass m is released from rest in a nonuniform

field, (a) Will it necessarily follow the line of force that passes through the
release point? (b) Under what circumstances, if any, will a charged
particle follow the electric field lines?

18. In the median plane of an electric dipole, is the electric field parallel
or antiparallel to the electric dipole moment p?

21.Compare the way E varies with r for {a) a point charge, (b) a dipole,
and (c) a quadrupole.

22. What mathematical difficulties would you encounter if you were to

calculate the electric field of a charged ring (or disk) at points not on the
axis?

27. You turn an electric dipole end for end in a uniform electric field. How
does the work you do depend on the initial orientation of the dipole with
respect to the field?

28. For what orientations of an electric dipole in a uniform electric field is

the potential energy of the dipole {a) the greatest and (b) the least?
29. An electric dipole is placed in a nonuniform electric field. Is there a
net force on it?

30. An electric dipole is placed at rest in a uniform external electric field,

as in Fig. 1 la, and released. Discuss its motion.

31. An electric dipole has its dipole moment p aligned with a uniform
external electric field E. (a) Is the equilibrium stable or unstable? (b)
Discuss the nature of the equilibrium if p and E point in opposite
directions.