GENERAL PHYSICS II charge is the Coulomb (C).

ELECTRIC CHARGE • e - represents the magnitude of the charge on a

proton or an electron and does not include the
The origin of electricity algebraic sign that indicates whether the charge is
positive or negative.
• The electrical nature of matter is inherent (existing
in something as a permanent, essential, or • Atoms are normally found with equal numbers of
characteristic attribute) in atomic structure. protons and electrons.
• Electrically neutral- when an atom or any object
Atom – smallest unit into which matter can be divided
carries no net charge.
without the release of electrically charged particles.
• The charge on the electrons or a proton is
●the smallest unit of matter that has the the smallest amount of free charge that has
characteristic properties of a chemical been discovered.
element. • Charges of larger magnitude are built up on
an object by adding or removing electrons.
●is the basic building block of matter.
• Any charge of magnitude q is an integer (a
Atom - consists of a small relatively massive nucleus whole number) multiple on e, that is
that contains particles called protons and neutrons.
q= Ne where N = an integer
-27
• A proton has a mass of 1.673 x 10 kg
Any electric charge q occurs in integers, multiples
• A neutron has a slightly greater mass of 1.675 x of elementary, invisible charges of magnitude e,
electric charge is said to be quantized.
10- 27 kg
•Example of a Quantized Nature
• Electrons- surround the nucleus, a diffuse cloud of
orbiting particles. of Electric Charge:

• An electron has a mass of 9.11 x 10-31 kg How many electrons are there in one Coulomb of
negative charge?
Electric charge - is an intrinsic (essential) property of
protons and electrons.
2 Types of Charges Discovered:
1. Positive
2. Negative
Proton - has a positive charge
Charging
Electron - has a negative charge
In general, a material can be given a net charge by
Neutron - has no net charge
adding or removing electrons.

Experiment reveals that the magnitude of the charge on General ways of charging:
the proton exactly equals the charge of the electron.
• Triboelectric Charging - also known as charging
• Electron charge / Electric by friction or rubbing. One of the most common
charge/Elementary charge (Symbol e) have methods of charging.
been determined experimentally to have a
Examples: 1. Glass rubbed with silk
value of
2. Hard rubber with fur
e =1.60 x 10-19 C
The SI unit for measuring the magnitude of an electric • The presence of different atoms in an object
provides different objects with different
 electrical properties. TYPES OF ELECTRIC CHARGES
• One property is known as electron affinity - • Each type of charge attracts the opposite type but
refers to the relative amount of love/close repels the same type. This leads to the basic law
relationship that a material has for electrons. of electrostatics: Unlike charges attract, like
charges repel.
Charging by Induction
• The SI unit of electric charge is the coulomb
(C). It is a scalar quantity.
● a method used to charge an object without
• Every electron has a charged of –1.6 x 10-19 C,
touching the object to any other charged • and every proton has a charge of + 1.6 x 10-19 C
object. POSITIVE CHARGE PARTICLES
● requires understanding the nature of a • In this type of particles, numbers of positive ions
conductor and the polarization process. are larger than the numbers of electrons.
● Example: If a rubber balloon is charged • To neutralize positively charged particles,
electrons from the surroundings come to this
negatively (perhaps by rubbing it with animal particle until the number of protons and electrons
fur) become equal.
NEGATIVE CHARGED PARTICLES
● Charging Two-Sphere System Using a
Negatively Charged Object In this type of particles, numbers of negative ions
are larger than the numbers of positive ions. In
other words, numbers of electrons are larger than
● The metal spheres are supported by insulating
the number of protons.
stands so that any charge acquired by the • To neutralize negatively charged particles, since
spheres cannot travel to the ground. The protons cannot move and cannot come to
spheres are placed side by side so as to form negatively charged particles, electrons move to
a two-sphere system. the ground or any other particle around itself.
NEUTRAL PARTICLES
● Being made of metal (a conductor), electrons
• These types of particles include equal numbers of
are free to move between the spheres.
protons and electrons. Be careful, they have both
protons, neutrons and electrons. However,
ELECTROSTATIC CHARGING numbers of “+” ions are equal to the numbers of
“-” ions.
● Charging by rubbing is a phenomenon in Conductors
which friction transfers charged particles
from one body to another. • Matters that have lots of free electrons to move.
• It is easy for electrons to flow from these materials.
● If two objects are rubbed together,
Metals are good conductors.
especially if the objects are insulators and
surrounding air is dry, the objects acquire Examples:
equal and opposite charges and an attractive gold, copper, human bodies, acid, base and salt
force develops between them. solutions
Insulators
● The object that loses electrons becomes • Materials that do not let electrons flow.
positively charged.
Bonds of electrons in the insulators are tighter than
● The other that gains electrons becomes the conductors, thus, they cannot move easily.
negatively charged. Examples:
Glass, ebonite (hard rubber) plastic, wood and air
● The force is simply the attraction between • Atoms having same charge repel each other and
charges of opposite sign. atoms having opposite charges attract each
 other. charges on or near the surface of the electrically
TYPES OF CHARGING charged object attracts the opposite charges in
the conductor and repel the like charges.
Charging by Friction • The law of attraction and repulsion is observed
in this phenomenon. Unlike charges attract,
• When you rub one material to another, they are
therefore a positive charge (+) will attract a
charged by friction. Material losing electron is
negative charge (-). Like charges repel, therefore a
positively charged and material gaining electron
negative charge (-) will repel a negative charge (-)
is negatively charged. Amount of gained and lost
and vice versa.
electron is equal to each other

Charging by Contact

• Charging by conduction occurs when two objects

with different amounts electric charge come in
contact and electrons move from one object to the
other. There are equal number of electrons and
protons in a neutral matter. If something changes
this balance, we can say it is charged.

ELECTRIC CHARGE, COULOMB’S LAW,

ELECTRIC FIELDS AND FLUX • ELECTROSCOPE - an instrument used to
ELECTROSTATIC INDUCTION detect the presence of electric charge on a body.
It detects charge by the movement of a test object
• a process to produce static electricity in an object due to the Coulomb electrostatic force on it.
by drawing near to an electrically charged • Electrostatic induction - also applicable
material. The former will cause the electrical in electroscope.
charges to be reallocated in the material that will • If you draw near a charged object such as
result in one side having an excess of either the plastic rod near an electroscope, the
positive (+) or negative (-) charges. opposite charges will move toward the
metal end of an electroscope.
• Electrostatic induction or Induction charging is • If you draw near a charged object such as the
a method used to charge an object without plastic rod near an electroscope, the opposite
touching. This method will cause the redistribution charges will move toward the metal end of an
of electrical charges on a material. electroscope as shown in the illustration
ELECTROSTATIC INDUCTION IN below.
CONDUCTORS
• Electrostatic induction is most effective when
materials are conductors just like metals.
• Metals are good conductors. In electrostatic
induction, once you remove the electrically
charged object, the conductor loses its charge.
Temporarily grounding the conductor must be
done to solve this phenomenon.
• Electrical conductors in neutral state has an equal
number of (+) and negative (-) electrical charges.
• Equal number of positive ions and negative ions
Illustration of Electrostatic induction
and electrons interacts within the conducting
• Electroscopes leaves separate because
material.
of electrical charges
• When an static electrically charged is brought
near to an electrical conductor, the electrical
 Coulomb force-extremely basic
- Most charges are due to point charge-like particles.
- Responsible for all electrostatic effects
and underlies most macroscopic forces.
Electric force between two subatomic particles is
far greater than the gravitational force between the
same two particles.
• When dealing with charged objects or charges,
we also talk of forces between them.
• Electroscopes leaves go back to its • Forces can be attractive for unlike charges and
original position. repulsive force for like charges.
To find the force for charges, we can employ the
ELECTROSTATIC INDUCTION IN NON-
Coulomb’s Law.
CONDUCTORS
• Non-conductors or insulators can undergo
also the process of electrostatic induction.
These non-conductors can be given static
electic charge nevertheless electrostatic
induction in non-conducting materials is least
effective because the movement of charge is
constant.

• Examples: Water is polar molecule so water can

be slightly attracted to a static electric charge that F α q1 (If the charge of an object is doubled, the
is why if you draw near a charged object to a electrical force is also doubled.)
water, the steam of water will eventually bend. F α q1 q2 (If the charge of an object or particles doubled,
• A tissue and small pieces of Styrofoam, which are the electrical force is quadrupled.)
nonconductors can also be attracted by a charge
object through electrostatic induction.
• particles does not work because electrons are
constrained. Nevertheless, if the nonconductor
consists of polar molecules, the electrostatic
induction maybe possible.
• The latter will cause the molecules to be with
positive charges (+) and the other side with
negative charges (-).
• Polar molecules are molecules that has one side F α 1 (If the distance of the two charges are
2
more positive than the other side. d doubled, the electrical force
are quartered.)
COULOMB’S LAW
Coulomb’s Law - also known as Coulomb’s inverse- Coulomb’s Law calculates the magnitude of the
square law. force F between two point charges q 1 and q2
separated by a distance d.
• Measures the amount of force between
stationary charged particles.
• Discovered by French physicist Charles- • It is apparent that the electrostatic force between
Augustin de Coulomb in 1785. any two points is directly proportional to the
• Very significant in the progress of electricity product of the magnitude of the charges and
and magnetism since it quantifies electrical inversely proportional to the square of the
charges. distance between them.
The unit for charge is Coulomb (C) in honor to the
Sample Problem 1:
proponent of the law.
A point charge has a magnitude of 3 x 10 -7 C. A - -States that each charge will exert a force on
second charge has a magnitude of -1.5 x 10 -7 C and is another charge as if no other charges are
0.11 meter away from the first charge. Determine the present.
electrostatic force that the charges exerted to each
- According to this principle, the total force that a
other.
particular charge experiences due to a collection
Sample Problem 1: of charges is the vector sum of all the individual
forces.
Given: q1 = 3 x 10 -7 C Find:
F=? q2 = -1.5 x 10 -7 C -
k = 9 x 10 9 Nm2/C2
Sample Problem
d = 0.11 m
1. Three-point charges are located along the x-axis.
Point charge q1 = +3.5x 10-6 C is at x=0, point
charge q2 = +8.5 x 10-6 C is a x=2.0m, and point
charge q3 = -5.0 x10-6 C is at x=3.0 m. Find the
resultant electric force acting on q1.

SUPERPOSITION PRINCIPLE
Coulomb’s law
The magnitude of the Electrostatic force exerted by
one- point charge on another point charge is directly
proportional to the magnitudes kQ1 Q2 of the charges
and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them.

- The direction of the electric field produced by a

point charge is away from the charge if the charge
is positive, and toward the charge if the charge is
negative.
- Electric field is a vector, when there are multiple
point charges present, the net electric field at any
point is the vector sum of the electric fields due to
the individual charges.
- The concept of the field was first introduced by
Michael Faraday. ELECTRIC FLUX
- The electric field intensity at any point is
FLUX – describes how much of something goes
the strength of the electric field at that
through a given area.
point.
• the dot product of a vector field with an area.
- Electric field intensity- the force experienced
by a unit positive charge at a particular point. ELECTRIC FLUX – the rate of flow of the electric
- Explains the interaction between multiple charges. field through a given surface.
• The larger the area, the more field lines go
 through it and, hence, the greater the flux.
= d = E.dA
• Similarly, the stronger the electric field is,
the greater the flux.
The total flux is going to be the integral of dΦ or the
integral over that entire area of E.dA

It is a scalar quantity and the end result can be positive

or negative. If the flux is going from the inside to the
outside, we call that a positive flux, if it is going from
the outside to the inside, that is a negative flux.
Φ= Nm2/C

The unit of electric flux is Newton meters squared per

Coulomb (Nm2/C).
In Figure 1 the flux of an electric field through the
shaded area captures information about the number of
electric field lines passing through the area.
The numerical value of the electric flux depends on
the magnitudes of the electric field and the area
As well as the relative orientation of the area with
respect to the direction of the electric field. To get a better understanding of what electric flux is,
Illustration: A Macroscopic analogy that might help let us consider electric fields passing through these
you is to put a hula hoop in a flowing river. three rectangles with different orientations.
In the first case, the area is perpendicular to the
ELECTRIC FLUX THROUGH electric field & the angle between their vectors 𝜃 is 0°.
OPEN SURFACES 𝑐𝑜𝑠 0° is 1, so the electric flux is going to be 𝑬𝒅𝑨.
Here we have maximum flux.
𝒅𝚽 = 𝑬𝒅𝑨𝒄𝒐𝒔𝜽
𝒅𝚽 = 𝑬𝒅𝑨𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟎°

𝒅𝚽 = 𝑬𝒅𝑨

In the second case, the angle between 𝑬 and 𝒅𝑨 𝜽 is

60°, and 𝑐𝑜𝑠 60°cos is 0.5, so the electric flux will be
Figure 2. The red lines represent a uniform electric half 𝑬𝒅𝑨.
field. We will bring in that field a rectangle, which is
an open area, and we will divide it into very small 𝒅𝚽 = 𝑬𝒅𝑨𝒄𝒐𝒔𝜽
elements, each with size dA (differential of area).
𝒅𝚽 = 𝑬𝒅𝑨𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟔𝟎°
d Φ= E. d A
𝒅𝚽 = 𝑬𝒅𝑨/𝟐
d Φ= E dA cosθ
In the third case, the area is parallel to the electric
The electric flux that passes through this small area dΦ
field, which means that their vectors are
(also called a differential of flux)
perpendicular to each other, and the angle 𝜽 between
Differential of flux - a dot product of the magnitude them is 90°. cos90° is 0, so the electric flux here will
of the electric field E and the magnitude of the vector be 0. This means that nothing goes through that
area dA, times the angle between these two vectors θ. rectangle, so here we have zero flux.
Now, we are going to make the areas dA a vector, with 𝚽 = 𝑬𝒅𝑨𝒄𝒐𝒔𝜽
a magnitude dA. The vector direction is always
perpendicular to the small element dA. 𝒅𝚽 = 𝑬𝒅𝑨𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟗𝟎°
𝒅𝚽 = 𝟎

Problem 1. A uniform electric field 𝐸 = 8000 𝑁/𝐶 is

passing through a flat square area 𝐴 = 10𝑚2.
Determine the electric flux.

Given:
The magnitude of the electric field

(𝐸) = 8000 𝑁/C

Area (A) = 10𝑚2

𝜃 = 0° (the angle between the electric field direction

and a line drawn a perpendicular to the area)
Unknown: Electric flux (Φ)
Solution:
The formula of the electric flux

𝑑Φ = 𝐸𝑑𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
Φ = 𝐸𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑠

Φ= Electric Flux (Nm2/C), Electric field= N/C

A= Area (m2), 𝜃 = angle between electric field line

with the normal line.
Electric Flux:
Φ = 𝐸𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑠

Φ= (8000 N/C) (10m2/C) (Cos Φ)

Φ= 80,000 Nm2/C or 8 x 104 Nm2/C