Electricity and Magnetism

Second lecture

Conductors, Insulators and

Coulomb’s law
MS. Sarah mohammed
Dr. Mohammed Hashim Abbas

first stage
Department of medical physics
Al-Mustaqbal University-College
2021- 2022

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Outline
1. Conductors and Insulators

2. Induced Charge

3. Charging an object

4. Coulomb’s Law

5. References

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2.1 Conductors and Insulators

We can classify materials generally according to the ability of charge to move

through them (What is the classification of materials according to the ability
of charge moving through them or according to the conductivity?)
2.1.1 Conductors are materials through which charge can move rather
freely; examples include metals (such as copper in common lamp wire), the
human body, and tap water.

• 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.
2.1.2 Insulators: Electrical insulators are materials in which all of
the electrons are bound to atoms.

• These electrons cannot 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.
2.1.3 Semiconductors: The electrical properties of semiconductors
are somewhere between those of insulators and conductors.
• Examples of semiconductor materials include silicon and
germanium.
• Semiconductors are commonly used in making electronic
chips.

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• The electrical properties of semiconductors can be changed by
the addition of controlled amounts of certain atoms to the material.
The properties of conductors and insulators are due to the structure and
electrical nature of atoms. Atoms consist of positively charged protons,
negatively charged electrons, and electrically neutral neutrons. The protons
and neutrons are packed tightly together in a central nucleus. The charge of a
single electron and that of a single proton have the same magnitude but are
opposite in sign. Hence, an electrically neutral atom contains equal numbers
of electrons and protons. Electrons are held near the nucleus because they
have the electrical sign opposite that of the protons in the nucleus and thus are
attracted to the nucleus. Were this not true, there would be no atoms and thus
no you.
• Most metals are good conductors, while most nonmetals are insulators.
Within a solid metal such as copper, In an insulator there are no, or very few,
free electrons, and electric charge cannot move freely through the material.
Some materials called semiconductors are intermediate in their properties
between good conductors and good insulators.
2.2 Induced Charge

The experiment of Figure 1 demonstrates the mobility of charge in a

conductor. A negatively charged plastic rod will attract either end of an
isolated neutral copper rod. What happens is that many of the conduction
electrons in the closer end of the copper rod are repelled by the negative
charge on the plastic rod. Some of the conduction electrons move to the far
end of the copper rod, leaving the near end depleted in electrons and thus with
an unbalanced positive charge. This positive charge is attracted to the negative
charge in the plastic rod. Although the copper rod is still neutral, it is said to

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have an induced charge, which means that some of its positive and negative
charges have been separated due to the presence of a nearby charge.
Similarly, if a positively charged glass rod is brought near one end of a neutral
copper rod, induced charge is again set up in the neutral copper rod but now
the near end gains conduction electrons, becomes negatively charged, and is
attracted to the glass rod, while the far end is positively charged.
Note that only conduction electrons, with their negative charges, can move;
positive ions are fixed in place. Thus, an object becomes positively charged
only through the removal of negative charges.
What are the steps for charging an object by induction?
1. Negative rod brought near neutral object.
2. Electrons in rod repel electrons to opposite end of object, causing one end
to become positive.
3. If object is grounded (connected to ground), electrons from negative end
of object travel into the ground.
4. Now object has more protons than electrons so it becomes positive.

Figure 1: A neutral copper rod is electrically isolated. Either end of the copper rod will be
attracted by a charged rod.

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2.3 Charging an object

There are Main methods of charging an object:

2.3.1 Charging by Friction (Rubbing)
When two neutral materials are rubbed together, they may become charged.
Electrons are transferred by rubbing from one material that becomes
negatively charged to the other material becomes positively charged. Rubbing
does not create charge but only transfers it from one body to another.

2.3.2 Charging by Contact

One material is already charged the other material is either neutral or charged.
“Electrons are transferred from a negatively charged object to either a neutral
or positively charged object by contact.”

2.3.3 Charging by Induction

The movement of electrons within a substance caused by a nearby charged

object, without direct contact between the substance and the object.

2.4 Coulomb’s Law

Now we come to the equation for Coulomb’s law, but first a caution. This
equation works for only charged particles. If two charged particles are brought
near each other, they each exert an electrostatic force on the other. The
direction of the force vectors depends on the signs of the charges. If the
particles have the same sign of charge, they repel each other. That means that
the force vector on each is directly away from the other particle (Figure 2 a
and b). If we release the particles, they accelerate away from each other. If,
instead, the particles have opposite signs of charge, they attract each other.

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That means that the force vector on each is directly toward the other particle
(Figure 2 c). If we release the particles, they accelerate toward each other.

Figure 2: Two charged particles repel each other if they have the same sign of charge, either
(a) both positive or (b) both negative. (c) They attract each other if they have opposite
signs of charge.

Coulomb’s law after Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, whose experiments in

1785 led him to it. Let’s write the equation in vector form and in terms of the
particles shown in Figure 3, where particle 1 has charge q1 and particle 2 has
charge q2.

Figure 3: The electrostatic force on particle 1 can be described in terms of a unit vector
along an axis through the two particles, radially away from particle 2.

Let’s write the force acting on particle 1 in terms of a unit vector rˆ has a
magnitude of exactly 1 and no unit that points along a radial axis extending

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through the two particles, radially away from particle 2. we write the
electrostatic force as:

where r is the separation between the particles and k is a positive constant

called the electrostatic constant or the Coulomb constant.
Unit. The SI unit of charge is the coulomb. For practical reasons having to do
with the accuracy of measurements, the coulomb unit is derived from the SI
unit ampere for electric current i. Let’s just note that current i is the rate dq/dt
at which charge moves past a point or through a region:

Rearranging above and replacing the symbols with their units (coulombs C,
amperes A, and seconds s) we see that:

Force Magnitude. The electrostatic constant k is often written as 1/4π𝜀0 and

The quantity 𝜀0 , called the permittivity constant. Then the magnitude of the
electrostatic force in Coulomb’s law becomes:

Multiple Forces. Suppose we have n charged particles near particle 1, then

the net force on particle 1 is given by the vector sum:

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In which, for example, 𝐹⃗14 is the force on particle 1 due to the presence of
particle 4.
Examples:
1. Figure 4 a shows two positively charged particles fixed in place on an
x axis. The charges are q1 = 1.6010-19 C and q2=3.210-19 C, and the particle
separation is R=0.02 m. What are the magnitude and direction of the
⃗⃗𝟏𝟐 on particle 1 from particle 2?
electrostatic force 𝑭

Figure 4: (a) Two charged particles of charges q1 and q2 are fixed in place on an x axis.
(b), showing the electrostatic force on particle 1from particle 2.

Solution:

Because both particles are positively charged, particle 1 is repelled by particle

2. Thus, the direction of force 𝐹⃗12 on particle 1 is away from particle 2, in the
negative direction of the x axis, as indicated in Figure 4 b.

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Thus, force 𝐹⃗12 has the following magnitude and direction (relative to the
negative direction of the x axis):

We can also write in unit-vector notation as:

2. Figure 5 c: is identical to Figure 4 a except that particle 3 now lies on

the x axis between particles 1 and 2. Particle 3 has charge q3 = - 3.2 10-19 C
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and is at a distance 𝑅 from particle 1.What is the net electrostatic force
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⃗𝑭⃗𝟏,𝒏𝒆𝒕 on particle 1 due to particles 2 and 3?

Figure 5: (a) Three charged particles of charges q1, q2 and q3 are fixed in place on an x axis.
(b), showing the electrostatic force on particle 1from particle 2 and 3.

The presence of particle 3 does not alter the electrostatic force on particle 1
from particle 2. Thus, force 𝐹⃗1,2 still acts on particle 1. Similarly, the force 𝐹⃗1,3
that acts on particle 1 due to particle 3 is not affected by the presence of
particle 2. Because particles 1and 3 have charge of opposite signs, particle 1
is attracted to particle 3. Thus, force v is directed toward particle 3, as
indicated in of Figure 5 d.

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Solution:
To find the magnitude of 𝐹⃗1,3

We can also write 𝐹⃗1,3 in unit-vector notation:

Thus, 𝐹⃗1,𝑛𝑒𝑡 has the following magnitude and direction (relative to the
positive direction of the x axis):

2.5 References

Walker, Jearl, Robert Resnick, and David Halliday. Halliday and resnick
fundamentals of physics. Wiley, 2014.

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