Why Do Neutral and Charged Objects Attract?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Trollscience
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Coulomb's law Law
AI Thread Summary
In the experiment with two aluminum foil balls, one charged and the other neutral, an unexpected attraction was observed despite Coulomb's law suggesting no interaction due to the neutral charge. This phenomenon can be explained by electrostatic induction, where the charged ball induces an opposite charge on the neutral ball, leading to attraction. Factors like humidity may influence the results, but the theoretical basis for the attraction remains valid. The discussion highlights the importance of understanding electrostatic principles in practical applications. Overall, the experiment demonstrates how neutral objects can still interact with charged ones through induction.
Trollscience
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
We were doing an experiment today and we had 2 aluminum foil balls hang next (but not touching) to each other. Both were initially grounded then we charged one of them while the other remained neutral. We observed an attraction between them but coulomb's law states that:

F = k(q1*q2/r^2). If one ball was neutral (zero charge) then it should result with no attraction nor repulsion. I realize that this experiment may have other influencing factors such as humidity but theoretically this assumption should be true right?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Do you know electrostatic induction?

This results in an opposite charge induced on the neutral ball, from the charged one, resulting in attraction.
 

Thread 'Maxwell stress tensor'

This is from Griffiths' Electrodynamics, 3rd edition, page 352. I am trying to calculate the divergence of the Maxwell stress tensor. The tensor is given as ##T_{ij} =\epsilon_0 (E_iE_j-\frac 1 2 \delta_{ij} E^2)+\frac 1 {\mu_0}(B_iB_j-\frac 1 2 \delta_{ij} B^2)##. To make things easier, I just want to focus on the part with the electrical field, i.e. I want to find the divergence of ##E_{ij}=E_iE_j-\frac 1 2 \delta_{ij}E^2##. In matrix form, this tensor should look like this...
View full post »
Thread 'Applying the Gauss (1835) formula for force between 2 parallel DC currents'

Thread 'Applying the Gauss (1835) formula for force between 2 parallel DC currents'

Please can anyone either:- (1) point me to a derivation of the perpendicular force (Fy) between two very long parallel wires carrying steady currents utilising the formula of Gauss for the force F along the line r between 2 charges? Or alternatively (2) point out where I have gone wrong in my method? I am having problems with calculating the direction and magnitude of the force as expected from modern (Biot-Savart-Maxwell-Lorentz) formula. Here is my method and results so far:- This...
View full post »

Similar threads

How does permittivity in Coulomb's law work?
Replies
5
Views
1K
Electrostatic polarization and paper bits attraction
Replies
1
Views
3K
Why Are The Units of Coulombs Law What They Are?
Replies
5
Views
3K
How Can I Determine the Value of Charges in Coulomb's Law?
Replies
9
Views
2K
How did Coulomb charge his spheres to verify Coulomb's law?
Replies
5
Views
2K
What is the *truth* of the electrostatic force
Replies
15
Views
4K
Distribution of force acting upon two charged objects
Replies
3
Views
1K
Find the magnitude of the electric force from 3 charges at vertices of a cube
Replies
17
Views
2K
The charge interaction as a force
Replies
3
Views
1K
Coulomb's experiment (coulomb's law)
Replies
1
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top