Chapter 17
Electric Charge and Field
By Boundless
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/23283/square/atom-diagram.jpg)
Atoms contain negatively charged electrons and positively charged protons; the number of each determines the atom's net charge.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/16341/raw/coulombslaw.jpg)
Electric charge is a fundamental physical property of matter that has many parallels to mass.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/30844/square/e-playground-2848616367-29.jpeg)
Charge separation, often referred to as static electricity, is the building of space between particles of opposite charges.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/17396/square/screenshot-202.jpeg)
Dielectric polarization is the phenomenon that arises when positive and negative charges in a material are separated.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/16461/square/e-playground-2848616367-29.jpeg)
Electric charge is a physical property that is perpetually conserved in amount; it can build up in matter, which creates static electricity.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/16393/square/stripped-wire.jpeg)
Based on the ability to conduct current, materials are divided into conductors and insulators.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/24024/square/80-99s-oil-drop-experiment.jpg)
In 1911, using charged droplets of oil, Robert Millikan was able to determine the charge of an electron.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/17345/raw/lorentz-force-particle.jpg)
The superposition principle (superposition property) states that for all linear forces the total force is a vector sum of individual forces.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/12164/square/figure-19-03-03a.jpeg)
The charge distribution around a molecule is spherical in nature, and creates a sort of electrostatic "cloud" around the molecule.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/12168/square/cf2.jpeg)
Coulomb's Law, which calculates the electric force between charged particles, can be written in vector notation as
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/32466/square/pg1kemuormcxyvjslyvu.jpg)
A point charge creates an electric field that can be calculated using Coulomb's law.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/16529/square/va1.gif)
The resultant of multiple electric fields acting on the same point is the sum of the strength of each field's applied force at that point.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/16527/square/figure-19-05-06a.jpeg)
Electric fields created by multiple charges interact as do any other type of vector field; their forces can be summed.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/16528/raw/-schematic-with-dielectric.jpg)
A parallel-plate capacitor is an electrical component used to store energy in an electric field between two charged, flat surfaces.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/16524/square/figure-19-07-07a.jpeg)
Electric fields in the presence of conductors have several unique and not necessarily intuitive properties.
In the presence of charge or an electric field, the charges in a conductor will redistribute until they reach static equilibrium.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/16749/raw/gc-dna-base-pair.jpg)
Hydrogen bonding, brought on by electrostatic interactions, is critical to holding together strands of DNA.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/16792/raw/aphic-photocopy-process-en.jpg)
Photocopiers use xerography, a process that uses principles of electrostatics, to copy images.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/16773/raw/van-de-graaf-generator.jpg)
A Van de Graaff generator is a device that can be used to separate charges and create potential differences in the range of megavolts.