STATIC ELECTRICITY

Static electricity is an electrical phenomenon that occurs when electrons move from one object to another when the two
objects rub against each other. The transfer of current in static electricity is limited and only temporary (weak). There are
three ways to make objects become charged with static electricity, namely rubbing, induction, and conduction.

1. Charging by Rubbing/Friction
To provide a charge by rubbing is very dependent on one of the electrical properties, namely electron affinity. Electron
affinity is the ability of an atom to attract electrons. An atom is said to have a high electron affinity if it easily attracts
electrons from other atoms. On the other hand, an atom is said to have a low electron affinity if it easily donates
electrons to other atoms. Based on their electron affinity, objects can be arranged in a series called the triboelectric
series as follows:
Tend to gain electrons Tend to lose electrons
(become negative) (become positive)
Teflon Cotton
Silicon Paper
Scotch tape Aluminium
Plastic wrap Silk
Styrofoam Cat fur
Polyester Wool
Gold, platinum Nylon
Nickel, copper Human hair
Rubber Glass
Amber Rabbit fur
Wood Dry skin
Steel Human hands
“The substances at the top of the series have a greater affinity than the substances at the bottom”

2. Charging by Induction
Charging by induction can be done by bringing (without touching) a charged object to another object. When a
negatively charged object is brought close to the two neutral ball conductors of 𝐴 and 𝐵, the balls 𝐴 and 𝐵 are induced
separation of charges. The electrons in ball 𝐴 are repelled by negatively charged objects so that electrons move to
ball 𝐵. As a result, ball 𝐴 loses electrons and ball 𝐵 gains electrons. After ball 𝐴 and ball 𝐵 are separated, the ball
conductor 𝐴 is positively charged and the ball conductor 𝐵 is negatively charged.

A negatively
charged object

A B -- A B A B
- - - -- -
- - - ++ + - - ++ + - -
Ball Neutral Neutral
- -
- + + ++ + - - - -- - + + ++ + - - - -- -
conductors + + + --- - + + + - - -
- -
+ + + +
+ -- + -

Insulator Insulator Insulator

3. Charging by Conduction
Charging by conduction involves the contact of a charged object to a neutral object. A negatively as well as positively
charged object seems to have an uneven amount of charges. As a consequence, whenever a charged object comes
into interaction with an uncharged conductor, electrons are transferred from the charged object toward the conductor.
Whenever a negative object is being utilized just to charge a neutral object, both things become negatively charged,
as well as vice versa. Hence, during charging by conduction, both objects acquire the same type of charge.
Coulomb’s Law
“The force of attraction or repulsion acting along a straight line between two electric charges is directly
proportional to the product of the charges and inversely to the square of the distance between them.”
The magnitude of the electric force (attraction or repulsion) produced by two charged objects separated by a distance is
called the Coulomb force, where opposite charges will attract, while like charges will repel. The magnitude of the Coulomb
force that occurs on the two charges can be formulated as follows:
𝑄1 × 𝑄2
𝐹=𝑘
𝑟2
𝐹 = Coulomb force (N)
𝑄1 , 𝑄2 = electric charge of each object (C)
𝑟 = distance between the two charged objects (m)
𝑘 = Coulomb constant, 9 × 109 Nm2/C2

Exercise 1
1. Two charged objects, 𝑄1 = 5 μC and 𝑄2 = −80 μC, are 30 cm apart. What is the magnitude of Coulomb force acting
between the two charged objects?
2. Two electric charged objects, 𝑄1 = 8 μC and 𝑄2 = 0.25 μC, are 10 cm apart. Find the Coulomb force occurred between
the two charged objects?
3. Two charged objects are 𝑟 cm apart and produce a repulsive force of 𝐹. Find the Coulomb force acting on the two
objects if the distance between them become
1
a. times the initial,
2
b. 3 times the initial?
4. Two coins have the same electric charge, each equal to 𝑄. If the repulsion is 1000 N and the distance between the
two coins is 1.5 cm, what is the charge on each coin?
5. If the magnitude of the Coulomb force between two identical charges 𝐴 and 𝐵 is 1.6 N and the magnitude of each
charge is 0.4 μC, what is the distance between the two charges?
6. The electric force caused by the two charges is 15 N. If the magnitudes of each charge are 12 μC and 0.5 μC, what is
the distance between the two charges?

Electric Field
Electric field is an area (space) around an electrically charged particle that is still affected by an electric force (Coulomb
force). Electric field is represented by lines of force (or electric field lines). For positively charged particles, the direction
of the electric field lines is moving away from the source charge. On the other hand, for negatively charged particles, the
direction of the electric field lines is toward the source charge.

+ - + -
Figure (a) Figure (b) FIgure (c)

+ + + + +

+
+

- - - - -
Figure (d) Figure (e)
Properties of electric field lines
(1) Electric field lines always begin on a positive charge and end on a negative charge, or from a positively charged object
to infinity, or from infinity to a negatively charged object. They do not form closed curves (closed loop). They do not
start or stop in midspace.
(2) The number of electric field lines leaving a positive charge or entering a negative charge is proportional to the
magnitude of the charge.
(3) Electric field lines never intersect.
(4) If the electric field in a given region of space is zero, electric field lines do not exist.
(5) The electric field is strong when the lines are close together and it is weak when the lines are farther apart from each
other.
(6) The field lines are perpendicular to the surface of the charge.

The source charge is a charged object that produces an electric field. Meanwhile, another charge placed under the
influence of the electric field of the source charge is called the test charge. The size of the electric field strength can be
seen from the electric force lines. The closer the lines of electric force, the stronger the electric field. The electric field
strength is formulated as follows:
𝑭 𝑸
𝑬= or 𝑬 = 𝒌
𝒒 𝒓𝟐

Note:
𝐸 = electric field strength (N/C)
𝐹 = Coulomb force (N)
𝑟 = the distance between a test charge and a source charge (m)
𝑄 = the magnitude of a source charge (C)
𝑞 = the magnitude of a test charge (C)

Exercise 2
1. What is the strength of the electric field when the charge 𝑞 = 0.4 μC has Coulomb force 3.6 N?
2. An electric field strength of 2,400 N/C is experienced by an uncharged particle located at a distance of 10 mm from
an electrically charged particle 𝑄. If the distance between the two particles changes to 20 mm, what is the strength of
the electric field experienced by the particle?
3. Two electrically charged points, 𝑄𝐴 = −2 μC and 𝑄𝐵 = +5 μC, are 1.5 cm apart. What is the magnitude and direction
of the electric field at point 𝐵?
4. Point 𝑃 is 1.5 cm from point 𝑇 which has a charge of 3.6 μC. Determine the electric field strength at point 𝑃.
5. A conductor ball 𝐴 with a charge of 25 μC has a diameter of 12 cm. Point 𝐵 is placed at a distance of 4 cm from the
surface of the ball.
a. Find the electric field strength at point 𝐵.
b. Draw the direction of the electric field strength.
6. What is the magnitude of the force experienced by a charge of 5.4 μC in an electric field of 2,500 N/C?
7. A charge of 500 C is at a distance of 10 cm from another charge of 40 C. What is the strength of the electric field
experienced by a charge of 40 C?
8. A charge of –4 μC is 20 cm away from another charge of +5 μC. What is the electric field strength at a point that is
exactly in the middle of the two charges?

Electric Potential Energy and Electric Potential

Electric potential energy (𝑷𝑬𝑬 ) is the energy needed to move the test charge in electric field where its direction is against
the electric field or the energy that a charge in an electric field possesses which gives it the ability to do work. Like all
forms of energy, electric potential energy is a scalar quantity. But unlike other scalar quantities, like speed or temperature,
it can be positive or negative. It has nothing to do with direction, like it would in a vector quantity, but is determined by
whether the energy is lost or gained in a system. Electric potential energy depends on:
a. the type of charge (positive or negative),
b. the amount of charge, and
c. the strength of the electric field it’s in.

𝑞1 𝑞2
The formula of electric potential energy is 𝑃𝐸𝐸 = 𝑘 or 𝑃𝐸𝐸 = 𝑞. 𝐸. 𝑟
𝑟
𝑃𝐸𝐸 = electric potential energy (Joule)
𝑘 = Coulomb constant, 9 × 109 Nm2/C2
𝑞1 , 𝑞2 = charge of each object (Coulomb)
𝑟 = distance between the charges (meter)
𝐸 = electric field (N/C)
Electric potential (𝑽) is a scalar quantity and can be defined as the amount of work required to move one unit of electric
charge from a reference point (or from infinity) to a certain point. Electric potential can also be interpreted as electric
potential energy stored per unit test charge or the energy of a single charge. Electric potential at a point in space depends
on two main factors:
a. the amount of charge creating the potential and
b. the distance from the charge.

𝑃𝐸𝐸 𝑄
The formula of electric potential is 𝑉 = or 𝑉 = 𝑘 or 𝑉 = 𝐸 × 𝑟
𝑞 𝑟

𝑉 = electric potential (volt)

𝑃𝐸𝐸 = electric potential energy (J)
𝑞 = the magnitude of a test charge (C)
𝐸 = electric field strength (N/C)
𝑟 = distance between a certain point and a source charge (m)
𝑘 = Coulomb constant, 9 × 109 Nm2/C2
𝑄 = source charge (C)

If a charge 𝑞 is moved from point 1 to point 2, an amount of work 𝑊 is required.

Q 𝑊 = 𝑃𝐸𝐸1 − 𝑃𝐸𝐸2
r2 𝑊 = 𝑞 × (𝑉1 − 𝑉2 )
+ 2
𝑊 = 𝑞 × ∆𝑉
Note:
r1 𝑊 = work done or energy needed to move a charge (joule)
∆𝑉 = electric potential difference (volt)
𝑟1 = the distance of point 1 to source charge (meter)
q 1
𝑟2 = the distance of point 2 to source charge (meter)
𝑞 = a charge that is transferred (coulomb)

Exercise 3
1. Find the magnitude of the electric potential from a point 4 cm from the source charge of 8 μC.
2. Point 𝑌 is at a distance of 1.5 m from point 𝑋. If point 𝑋 has an electric charge of 8 μC. Calculate the electric potential
at point 𝑌.
3. The work done to move an electric charge of 2 μC from point 𝐴 to point 𝐵 in an electric field is 5 joules. What is the
potential difference between the two points?
4. The potential difference between points 𝐴 and 𝐵 is 5 volts and the work required to move a charge from 𝐴 to 𝐵 is 80
joules. How much charge is transferred?
5. When lightning occurs, 24 coulombs of electric charge are transferred from the charged cloud to the earth's surface
and require an energy of 12 × 109 joules.
a. What is the potential difference between the cloud and the earth's surface?
b. How far is the cloud from the earth's surface?
6. How much energy is required to move a charge of 4.5 coulombs from a point to a certain point that has a potential
difference of 18 volts?
7. Given the charge 𝑄 = 6 μC and 𝑞 = 2 μC. Determine the amount of work required to move the charge 𝑞 from point (1)
to point (2).
Q
3 cm
+ 2

9 cm

q 1