What is Electric Charge?
Electric charge is a fundamental property of matter that determines how it interacts with electromagnetic fields. When charges are stationary, they produce an electric field around them, and when in motion, they produce a magnetic field as well. Electric charge comes in two types: positive and negative. Like charges repel whereas unlike charges attract.
Basic Properties of Electric Charge
Electric charge possesses three fundamental properties:
- Quantization: Electric charge is quantized, meaning charges are always found in integer multiples of the elementary charge(e), i.e., q=ne where n I. Elementary charge is the charge of an electron, approximately -1.602 x 10-19coulombs (C).
- Conservation: The total electric charge in an isolated system remains constant over time. Charge cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred from one object to another. This principle is known as the conservation of electric charge.
- Additivity: The total charge of a system is the algebraic sum(considering the correct sign) of the individual charges within it.
Types of Charged Particles
There are primarily two types of charged particles which are discussed below:
Positively Charged Particles
Protons are the positively charged particles that are found in the nucleus of an atom. Protons have a mass of about 1 u. A particle gain positive charge when it lose electrons.
Negatively Charged Particles
Electrons are Negatively charged subatomic particles that surround the nucleus of an atom. Electrons have a much smaller mass of about 0.0005u. Electrons are located outside the nucleus in the outermost regions of the atom, called electron shells. A particle gain negative charge when its gains electron from other particle
After from positive and negatively charged particles, there are neutral particles which are discussed below:
Neutral Particles
Neutrons are Neutral subatomic particles that are also found in the nucleus of an atom. Neutrons have a mass of about 1 u.
Electrostatics
Electrostatics is the study of electric charges that are fixed. It includes an study of the forces that exist between charges as defined by Coulomb’s Law. The following concepts are involved in electrostatics: Electric charge, electric field, and electrostatic force.
Electrostatic forces are non contact forces that can push or pull on items without coming into contact with them. A storm cloud’s internal accumulation of static electricity produces lightning.
In this article, we will study in detail about electrostatics, its related definitions, formulas and examples based on them.
Table of Content
- What is Electrostatics?
- What is Electric Charge?
- Coulomb’s law
- What is Electric Field?
- Electric Flux
- What is an Electric Dipole?
- Electric Lines of Force
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