1. Physics
Electrostatics

2. What does that word even mean?
Electrostatics = electricity at rest
Electrostatics involves electric charges, the forces between them, and their behavior in materials
Reminder:
Protons (+)
Electrons (-)
Neutrons (no charge)

3. Charges
The fundamental rule at the base of all electrical phenomena is that like charges repel and opposite charges attract
An object that has unequal numbers of electrons and protons is electrically charged.

4. Conservation of Charge
The principle that electrons are neither created nor destroyed but are simply transferred from one material to another is known as conservation of charge.
When electrons are transferred from the fur to the rod, the rod becomes negatively charged.

5. Coulomb’s Law
For charged particles, the force between the charges varies directly as the product of the charges and inversely as the square of the distance between them.
1 C (coulomb) is the charge of 6.24 billion billion electrons
k = * 109 Nm2/C2

6. q1 and q2 are charges, measured in [C]
k = proportionality const = 9.00 * 109 Nm2/C2
d = distance between the charges [m]

7. Example: F = k * q1 * q2 2.8 =(9*109) * 5 * q2 q2= 2.8 * (1.2)2
Consider two small charged objects, one with a charge of 5 C and the other of unknown charge. When they are separated by a distance of 1.2 m, each exerts a force of 2.8 N on the other. What is the charge of the second object?
F = k * q1 * q2 d2
2.8 =(9*109) * 5 * q2
(1.2)2
q2= 2.8 * (1.2)2
(9*109) * 5

8. Conductors and Insulators
Materials through which electric charge can flow are called conductors
Metals are good conductors
In insulators, electrons are tightly bound and remain with a particular atom (they are not free to wander about)
Rubber and glass are good insulators and poor conductors of electricity
Semiconductors are materials that can be made to behave sometimes as insulators and sometimes as conductors.
Atoms in a semiconductor hold their electrons until given small energy boosts.

9. Plasmas Plasmas are good conductors
Plasma – the 4th state of matter (not a solid, liquid or a gas!)
Contains ions or free electrons
Stars and neon signs are both Plasmas

10. Charging by Friction and Contact
Electrons transferred by friction:
We can stroke a cat’s fur and hear the crackle of sparks that are produced
Comb our hair in front of a mirror in a dark room and see as well as hear the sparks of electricity
Scuff our shoes across a rug and feel the tingle as we reach for the doorknob
Electrons transferred by contact:
A charged rod is placed in contact with a neutral object, some charge will transfer to the neutral object

11. Charging by Induction
Induction – charging of an object without direct contact
If a charged object is brought near a conducting surface, even without physical contact, electrons will move in the conducting surface

12. Grounding
When we allow charges to move off (or onto) a conductor by touching it, it is common to say that we are grounding it
When we touch the metal surface with a finger, charges that repel each other have a conducting path to a practically infinite reservoir for electric charge—the ground.