Electrostatics is the study of the Electric Field that exists between electric charges at rest such as electrons and protons and their interactions with that electric field.
ELECTRIC CHARGE
⚜ What is Electric Charge? ⚜
Electric charge is a property all matter inherently possesses on the atomic scale. Electric charge is designated positive (+) or negative (-). Opposite charges attract and like charges repel.
TRIVIA
🔔 QUESTION : What is a common form of electrostatic attraction in the household?
💡 Hover or Tap for the ANSWER! 💡
The Static cling of plastic wrap and clothes are common forms of electrostatic attraction in the household.
ELECTRIC FIELD
⚜ What is an Electric Field? ⚜
The Electric Field is a fictitious vector field that surrounds an electric charge and describes the electric force exerted on other charges within the field using contour lines.
A unit of Electric Force is defined as the Electric Field per unit electric charge.
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
⚜ What is the Electric Potential? ⚜
The electric potential is defined as the energy required or the work done to move a unit charge from a point outside an electric field to a point inside an electric field.
The electric field can be defined as the gradient of the electric potential.
A unit of electric potential is defined as the Potential Energy per unit charge.
TRIVIA
🔔 QUESTION : What are the charged particles that are present in the atom and are fundamental to electrostatics?
💡 Hover or Tap for the ANSWER! 💡
The Electron (-) and Proton (+) are the charged particles that are present in the atom.
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE
⚜ What is Electric Potential Difference? ⚜
The Electric Potential Difference is the measure of the Electric Potential Energy between two areas or points of electric charge of different amounts.
A capacitor is an example of a device which stores an Electric field and so has an Electric Potential Difference between the opposite plates.
Electric Potential Difference is measured in Volts.
ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE
⚜ What is Electrostatic Discharge? ⚜
Electrostatic Discharge occurs when the insulating medium (usually air or vacuum) within a potential difference breaks down and electrons jump the gap, producing a spark.
Electronics is a field which uses grounding straps and conducting packaging to prevent electrostatic discharge which can damage sensitive electronic components.
ELECTROSTATICS VIDEO
Click the Image below to watch Electrostatic Flame.
LEYDEN JAR
⚜ What is a Leyden Jar? ⚜
A Leyden Jar is a high voltage capacitor made of glass or plastic and is used with electrostatic generators and allows for higher voltages to be obtained before electrostatic breakdown.
The glass or plastic of the Leyden Jar is the insulator between foil plates on the inside and outside glass surfaces.
The Leyden Jar stores an electric field by keeping the positive and negative electric charges separated from each other as the generator operates.
ELECTROPHOROUS
⚜ What is an Electrophorus? ⚜
An electrophorus is a simple electrostatic generator and capacitor that produces and stores electric charge through triboelectrification and electrostatic induction.
The electrophorus consists of a dielectric insulator on a metal plate and a metal conducting plate with an insulating handle. Electric charge is produced by rubbing the dielectric and placing the metal plate on top, forcing freed electrons to push away from one plate, inducing a separation of charge.
