Voltage on a positively charged object?

AI Thread Summary
Charging a van de graaff generator to 10,000 V creates electric pressure due to an excess of electrons, leading to a voltage measurement. A positively charged object, which has a deficit of electrons, also possesses voltage, but it is labeled with a positive value. The voltage of a negatively charged object, conversely, is represented with a negative value. The relationship between charge density and voltage is influenced by the geometry of the charged materials. Thus, both positively and negatively charged objects have associated voltages, but they are designated differently.
kjamha
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If I charge a van de graaff to say 10,000 V I would think of the voltage as electric pressure. There would be so many electrons looking to escape the metal ball, and this overcrowding of the electrons (electrostatic forces) would create electric pressure, or voltage. If my analogy is off, then the question I have might not make sense and I will have to revise. But I am wondering about an object that has a large deficit of electrons (positively charged). Does this object, just like the van de graaff, have a voltage associated with it? If so, would it be labeled any differently than a negatively charged object?
 
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A different charge density can lead to a voltage difference, but those values are not just proportional to each other - geometry of the charged materials matters, too.
If you remove electrons from an object, its potential increases.
 
kjamha said:
But I am wondering about an object that has a large deficit of electrons (positively charged). Does this object, just like the van de graaff, have a voltage associated with it?
Yes.
If so, would it be labeled any differently than a negatively charged object?
Yes. It's voltage would be labeled with a positive value; the negatively charged object is labeled with a negative value for voltage.

So in your original scenario (with an excess or overcrowding of electrons), the voltage would be -10,000 V (that's negative 10,000).
 
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