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The document details the life and contributions of Coulomb, particularly his formulation of Coulomb's Law, which describes the force between charged objects. It outlines an experiment to estimate the charge on two identical balls using Coulomb's Law, including required materials, procedures, observations, calculations, and precautions. The conclusion states that the estimated charge induced on each pith ball is approximately 1.44 x 10^-7 C, equivalent to about 9.00 x 10^11 electrons.

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6 views

project improved

The document details the life and contributions of Coulomb, particularly his formulation of Coulomb's Law, which describes the force between charged objects. It outlines an experiment to estimate the charge on two identical balls using Coulomb's Law, including required materials, procedures, observations, calculations, and precautions. The conclusion states that the estimated charge induced on each pith ball is approximately 1.44 x 10^-7 C, equivalent to about 9.00 x 10^11 electrons.

Uploaded by

samiran.halder06
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Coulomb;-

Coulomb graduated in November 1761 from Ecole royale du


genie Mezieres .Over the next twenty years he was posted to
a variety of locations where he was involved in engineering –
structural,fortifications ,soil mechanics as well as others fields
of engineering .His first posting was Brest but in February
1764 he was sent to Martinique ,in the west indies ,where he
was put in charge of the building the new fortbun and this
occupied him till june 1772 ,
On his return to France ,Coulomb was sent to
bouchain.However he now began to write important works
on applied mechanics and he presented first work to his
Academie des sciences in Paris in 1773.In 1779 coulo mb was
sent to Rochefort to collaborate with the Marquis De
Montalembert in constructing a fort made out of wood near
lle d’Aix .During his period at rochefort ,coulomb carried his
research into mechanics,in particular using the shipyards in
Rochefort as laboratories for his experiments.
Upon his return to france , with the rank of captain , he was
employed at La Rochelle ,the isle of Aix and Cherbourg.He
discovered an inverse relationship of the force between
electric charges and the square of its distance,later named
after him as Coulomb’s Law.
AIM;- To estimate the charge induced on each of the two identical styrofoam (or
pith) balls suspended in a vertical plane by making use of coulomb”s law

MATERIALS REQUIRED : - 
1. Small size identical balls (pitch or soft plastic)

2. Physical balance or electronic balance
3. Halfmetre scale
4. Cotton thread
5. Stand
6. Glass rod{or plastic rod]
7. Silk cloth[woollen cloth]

Theory:-

The fundamental concepts of electrical charge in electrostatic is electrical charge.We are


all familiar with the fact rubbing two materials together{for example a rubber on cat fur
produces a static charge .This process is called charging by friction .
The mathematical form of coulomb law is

F=k q1 q2 /r^2

Where f is the electrical force between any two stationery charged particles with charges
Q1 and Q2 measured in coulombs ,r is the separation between the charges [measured in
metres ] , and K is the constant of nature [= 9 * 10^9 Nm^2/C^2 in SI units}

The weight of the ball W= mg


The restoring force on each ball = mgsin theta
Sin theta = x/2L
Let the charge on each ball be q1=q2=q
Then at equilibrium,
Mgsin theta = Kq *q/r^2
Mg x/2L = Kq^2/x^2
Q= square root[mgx^3/2Lk]

Electrons will actually move along this path to the ground.

COULOUMB’S LAW

In 1785,Augustine de coulomb investigated the alttractive and repulsive forces between


charged objects , experimentally formulating what is now referred to as coulomb’s law.
‘Magnitude of the electric force that a particle exerts on another is directly proportional to
the the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between them’.Mathematically, this electrostatic F acting on two charged
particlaes[q1,q2]is expressed as

F=kq1q2/r^2

Where r is the separation distance between the objects and k is a constant of proportionality
called the coulomb constant,k=9*10^9 m^2C^.
This formula gives us the magnitude of the force as well as direction by noting a positive
force as attractive and a negative as repulsive.Noting that like changes repel each other and
opposite charges attracting each other.Coulomb measured the force between he object small
metal coated balls by using a torsion balance similar to the balance used to measure
gravitational forces.

Applications of coulombs law;-


Coulomb's law is used in many real-world applications, including:
 Calculating force and distance
Coulomb's law can be used to calculate the force between two charges, or the
distance between them.
 Determining charges
Coulomb's law can be used to determine the charge of an entity if the force and
distance between two charged subsystems are known.
 Calculating electrical potential energy
Coulomb's law can be used to calculate electrical potential energies and voltage
differential.
 Interpreting electric fields
Coulomb's law can be used to interpret and calculate electric fields.
 Interpreting force on a point
Coulomb's law can be used to interpret the force on one point when there are other
points nearby.
 Manipulating charged particles
Coulomb's law is used in particle accelerators and mass spectrometers to
manipulate and control charged particles.
 Applying paints and aerosols
Paints and aerosols are applied to surfaces using an electrical charge opposite to
the surface to create attraction.
 Ink jet printers
Ink jet printers use electrostatic charges to direct small drops of ink to form letters
on paper.
Coulomb's law is essential in physics and electromagnetism, and has been
instrumental in the development of modern technology.

Procedure;-

1. Measure the mass [m] of each of the two identical pith balls using a physical balance
2. Hang the two balls from a rigid support using light silk or cotton threads of same
length[l]

3. Rub the glass tool silk cloth to induce charge on it now touch the glass rod with both
the pith balls together so that equal charge is induced on both the balls.

4. When left freely, the two balls will repel each other measure the distance between the
two balls when are at rest.Note down the distance.

5. To change the charge on ball , third uncharged ball touch it two any one of the two
balls and take the third ball away,and repeat step four

6. Take other uncharged suspended with other uncharged fourth ball and take the fourth
ball away and repeat step four

OBSERVATIONS ;-
Mass of each ball= 200 g
Radius of the ball [a] = 0.2cm
Length of the thread = 100cm

Sl No. Charge on ball Charge on ball Distance


B1 B2 between the
balls{in cm}
1 0.00 0.00 0.4
microcoulomb microcoulomb
2 2.00 2.00 33.0
microcoulomb microcoulomb
3 2.00 2.00 26.0
microcoulomb microcoulmb
4 1.00 1.00 20.8
microcoulomb microcoulomb

Calculations ;-

Q= square root[mgx^3/2Lk]
Number of electrons:

- Charge of an electron (e): approximately 1.602 x 10^-19 C

- Number of electrons (n) = q1 / e ≈ (1.44 x 10^-7 C) / (1.602 x 10^-19 C)

- n ≈ 9.00 x 10^11 electrons

Result ;- The charge on each ball = 1.44*10^-7

Precautions;-

1. The suspended ball should not be touched by any conducting body


2. Rub the glass rod properly with silk cloth to produce more charge
3. Weigh the mass of balls accurately
Sources of error ;-
1. The balls may not be of same size and mass
2. The distance between the balls may be measured accurately.

CONCLUSION ;-
The estimated charge induced on each pith ball is approximately 1.44 x 10^-7 C, which
corresponds to approximately 9.00 x 10^11 electrons.

Note: This project assumes ideal conditions and neglects air resistance and other factors that
may affect the measurement.

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