Full Answer
What causes a charge to move around a conductor?
The electrical forces around a conductor will cause free charges to move around inside the conductor until static equilibrium is reached. Any excess charge will collect along the surface of a conductor. Moreover, can charge be stored on a conductor?
How does electric charge move through an object?
Well, that depends on what type of material the object is made of. Certain materials, called conductors, allow electric charge to move pretty freely through them. Most metals are good conductors, so when a metal object is given some charge, it's free to move around.
What is the flow of charge through a conductor called?
When there is a net flow of charge through a conductor, we call it an electrical current. Usually there is a voltage source that creates an electric field that puts a force on the charges near the source. These charges then push all the other charges through the conductor.
How do conductors transfer charge from particle to particle?
Since conductors allow for electrons to be transported from particle to particle, a charged object will always distribute its charge until the overall repulsive forces between excess electrons is minimized. If a charged conductor is touched to another object, the conductor can even transfer its charge to that object.
Does surface charge affect current density?
No, it is the surface charge. The work function keeps the surface charge from leaving, but it only affects the surface charge density. The surface charges, in contrast, affect the current density throughout the conductor. Classical physics has a lot of issues indeed.
Is nonquantum charge transport a mechanical process?
Answers and Replies. Non-quantum charge transport in a conductor is not a thing; it is an inherently quantum mechanical process. We can of course use semi-classical models such as the Drude model, but you can't (and shouldn't) use these to think about individual charges. It is possible to create systems where you have "true" single electron ...
How are electrons bound in conductors?
In conductors, some of the electrons are loosely bound to each atom so they can easily move around, allowing charge to flow and redistribute throughout the conductor. Lesson. Quiz. Course.
What happens if a conductor is smooth and regular?
If the surface of the conductor is smooth and regular, then all the charges will end up the same distance apart from each other on the outer surface of the conductor. If the surface is NOT smooth and regular, then there will be more charge at areas where the surface curves more sharply.
Why are metals called insulators?
Other materials, like plastic and rubber, are called insulators because they don't allow electric charges to move through them. Let's take a look inside an insulator and a conductor to see what makes them different.
What happens when an object has excess charge?
When an object acquires some excess charge, what happens? Does the charge stay where you put it or does it move? Well, that depends on what type of material the object is made of. Certain materials, called conductors, allow electric charge to move pretty freely through them. Most metals are good conductors, so when a metal object is given some charge, it's free to move around. Other materials, like plastic and rubber, are called insulators because they don't allow electric charges to move through them.
Do charges move away from each other?
The charges aren't able to move away from each other no matter how much they repel. Unlike conductors, the charge distribution on an insulator does NOT depend on the shape of the object. Charges stay wherever you put them, regardless of the shape or size of the object!
Can an insulator be charged?
Since insulators don't contain mobile charge carriers like conductors, charges can't easily move through them in the same way. However, that doesn't mean that an insulator can't be charged! What it does mean is that, in an insulator, charges stay wherever they're initially placed.
Why do charged objects always have a charge?
Since conductors allow for electrons to be transported from particle to particle, a charged object will always distribute its charge until the overall repulsive forces between excess electrons is minimized. If a charged conductor is touched to another object, the conductor can even transfer its charge to that object.
Which material allows for charge transfer?
The transfer of charge between objects occurs more readily if the second object is made of a conducting material. Conductors allow for charge transfer through the free movement of electrons. In contrast to conductors, insulators are materials that impede the free flow of electrons from atom to atom and molecule to molecule.
Why do electrons migrate?
Excess electrons migrate to distance themselves from their repulsive neighbors.
What is the behavior of an object that has been charged?
The behavior of an object that has been charged is dependent upon whether the object is made of a conductive or a nonconductive material. Conductors are materials that permit electrons to flow freely from particle to particle. An object made of a conducting material will permit charge to be transferred across the entire surface of the object.
What are some examples of conductors?
Examples of conductors include metals, aqueous solutions of salts (i.e., ionic compounds dissolved in water), graphite, and the human body. Examples of insulators include plastics, Styrofoam, paper, rubber, glass and dry air. The division of materials into the categories of conductors and insulators is a somewhat artificial division.
What happens when a student places their hand on a static ball?
When a student places their hand upon the static ball, excess charge from the ball is shared with the human body. Being a conductor, the excess charge could flow to the human body and spread throughout the surface of the body, even onto strands of hair.
Does humidity affect electrostatics?
Since humidity levels tend to vary from day to day and season to season, it is expected that electrical effects (and even the success of electrostatic demonstrations) can vary from day to day.
When you touch a positively charged source to a conductor, what happens?
When you touch the positively charged source to the conductor (the metal sphere), electrons leave the conductor through the point of contact. This leaves the point of contact on the conductor with a large deficit of electrons, and thus the point has a positive charge density.
What happens when a conductor has a positive charge density?
The positive charge density produces an electric field in the conductor, which immediately pulls on remaining electrons in the conductor. The electrons remaining spread out until they have eliminated all of the electric fields in the conductor (if there were remaining fields, the electrons would continue to rearrange).
What does the difference between the new electron surface density and the original tell you?
The electrons will now be 'more spread out' than the protons; the difference between the new electron surface density and the original tells you the distribution of 'excess positive charge' on the surface.
What is the result of the positive charge displayed homogeneously on the conductor's surface?
The positive charge displayed homogeneously on the conductor's surface is the result of charge balance, between the positive stationary charges of the surface atoms and the negative charge of the electrons.
Do protons move?
You're correct that protons don't move. The whole story is told by how mobile electrons distribute themselves. If there are fewer electrons than protons, the conductor has a net positive charge, but there are still mobile electrons, and they still redistribute themselves. Share. Improve this answer.
