1

2
Electric
Force
4
Electric Charges
There are two kinds of electric charges called
positive and negative.
Charges of the same sign repel one another
Charges with opposite signs attract one
another.
Negative charges are the type possessed
by electrons.
Positive charges are the type possessed
by protons.
The rubber rod is
negatively charged.
The glass rod is positively
charged.
The two rods will attract.
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The rubber rod is negatively
charged.
The second rubber rod is also
negatively charged.
The two rods will repel.

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Electric charge is always conserved in an isolated
system.
For example, charge is not created in the process of
rubbing two objects together.
The electrification is due to a transfer of charge from
one object to another.
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A glass rod is rubbed with silk.
Electrons are transferred from
the glass to the silk.
Each electron adds a negative
charge to the silk.
An equal positive charge is left
on the rod.
The electric charge, q is the standard symbol used for
charge as a variable.
o Electric charge exists as discrete packets.
o q = Ne
N is an integer
e is the fundamental unit of charge
|e| = 1.6 x 10
-19
C
Electron: q = -e
Proton: q = +e
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Electric charge is quantized.
Conductors
Electrical conductors are materials in which
some of the electrons are free electrons.
Free electrons are not bound to the atoms.
These electrons can move relatively freely through
the material.
Examples of good conductors include copper,
aluminum and silver.
When a good conductor is charged in a small
region, the charge readily distributes itself over
the entire surface of the material.
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Insulators
Electrical insulators are materials in which all of
the electrons are bound to atoms.
These electrons can not move relatively freely
through the material.
Examples of good insulators include glass, rubber
and wood.
When a good insulator is charged in a small region,
the charge is unable to move to other regions of
the material.

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Semiconductors
The electrical properties of semiconductors are
somewhere between those of insulators and
conductors.
Examples of semiconductor materials include
silicon and germanium.
Semiconductors made from these materials are
commonly used in making electronic chips.
The electrical properties of semiconductors can be
changed by the addition of controlled amounts of
certain atoms to the material.
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Charles Coulomb
1736 1806
French physicist
Major contributions were
in areas of electrostatics
and magnetism.
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Coulombs Law
Charles Coulomb measured the magnitudes of electric
forces between two small charged spheres.
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The force is inversely proportional to the square of the
separation r between the charges and directed along
the line joining them.
The force is proportional to the product of the charges,
q
1
and q
2
, on the two particles.
The electrical force between two stationary point
charges is given by Coulombs Law.
Point Charge
The term point charge refers to a particle of
zero size that carries an electric charge.
The electrical behavior of electrons and protons is
well described by modeling them as point charges.

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The force is attractive if the charges are of
opposite sign.
The force is repulsive if the charges are of like
sign.
The force is a conservative force.
Coulombs Law Equation
The unit of charge is coulomb.
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2
2 1
2
2 1
2
2 1
1
r
q q
K F
r
q q
F
r
F nd a q q F
e e e
e e
= o
o o
Coulombs constant equals
2
2
9
10 9
4
1
C
m . N
x K
o
e
=
tc
=
e
K
Coulomb's Law Notes
Remember the charges need to be in coulombs.
e is the smallest unit of charge.
e = 1.6 x 10
-19
C
Typical charges can be in the C range.
Remember that force is a vector quantity.

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Particle Summary
The electron and proton are identical in the magnitude
of their charge, but very different in mass.
The proton and the neutron are similar in mass, but
very different in charge.

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With like signs for the charges, the product q
1
q
2
is
positive and the force is repulsive.
21 12
= F F
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The sign of the product of q
1
q
2
gives the relative direction of
the force between q
1
and q
2
.

With unlike signs for the charges,
the product q
1
q
2
is negative and the
force is attractive.
Multiple Charges
The resultant force on any one charge equals the vector
sum of the forces exerted by the other individual charges
that are present.
Remember to add the forces as vectors.
The resultant force on q
1
is the vector sum of all the
forces exerted on it by other charges.
For example, if four charges are present, the resultant
force on one of these equals the vector sum of the forces
exerted on it by each of the other charges.

1 21 31 41
= + + F F F F
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Example (1):

Three charges lie along the x-axis, the positive charge
q
1
=15 c is at x=2m and the positive charge q
2
=6 c is
at the origin, where must a negative charge q
3
be
placed on the x-axis such that the resultant force on it
is zero?
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32 31
F F =
) x ( x ) x ( ) x (
q x q ) x (
x
q q
K
) x (
q q
K
6 2 6 2
1
2
2
2
2
2 3
2
1 3
10 15 10 6 2
2
2

=
=
=

, x x 0 8 8 3
2
= +
a
ac b b
x
C bx ax
2
4
0
2
2

=
= + +
m 0.775 x =


2
1 3
31
2 ) x (
q q
K F

=
2
2 3
32
x
q q
K F = and
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Example (2):

The electron and proton of hydrogen atom are
separated by a distance of approximately 5.3x10
-11
m.
Find the magnitude of the electrical force and the
gravitational force between these two particles?

Solution:
The electric force


. N x .
) x . (
) x . (
x
r
e
K
r
q q
K F
e
8
2 11
2 19
9
2
2
2
2 1
10 2 8
10 3 5
10 6 1
10 9

=
=
= =
24
2
2 1
r
m m
G F
g
=
The gravitational force
N x .
) x . (
) x . )( x . (
x
47
2 11
27 31
11
10 6 3
10 3 5
10 67 1 10 11 9
10 6

=
=
2
r
m m
G F
p e
g
=
G: universal constant of gravitation=6x10
-11
N.m
2
/Kg
2

Here, the gravitational force between charged atomic particles is negligible
compared with the electrical force.
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Example 3

Two identical small charged spheres , each
having a mass of 3.0 x 10
-2
kg, hang in
equilibrium as shown in Figure. The length of
each string is 0.15 m, and the angle is 5.0.
Find the magnitude of the charge on each
sphere.


From figure (a):

m . . x r a r
m . sin . a sin L a
L
a
sin
026 0 013 0 2 2
013 0 5 15 0
= = =
= = u = = u
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) .......( mg cos T
) ........( F sin T
e
2
1
= u
= u
N x . tan x . x x F
tan mg F
mg
F
tan
e
e
e
2 2
10 57 2 5 8 9 10 3

= =
u =
= u

From figure (b):

Divide 1 over 2:
K
r F
q
r
q
K F
mg
F
tan
e
e
e
2
2
2
2
=
=
= u

C x . q
C
Nm
x
) m . )( N x . (
8
2
2
9
2 2
10 4 4
10 9
026 0 10 57 2

=
=