Can hot objects become charged?

Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
4 replies · 2K views
lonely_nucleus
Messages
108
Reaction score
19
Because a hot object like a hot metal has a lot of heat flowing through them are they charged? What are some ways to charge objects.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I can't say whether the object would be charged however with a lot of heat then electrons could be ejected from the surface but I think if it were grounded then it still wouldn't have a net charge.

Vacuum tubes work on the same kind of principle of heating a cathode to get electron flow from cathode to anode:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_tube

basically the process of thermionic emission:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermionic_emission
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: lonely_nucleus
jedishrfu said:
I can't say whether the object would be charged however with a lot of heat then electrons could be ejected from the surface but I think if it were grounded then it still wouldn't have a net charge.

Vacuum tubes work on the same kind of principle of heating a cathode to get electron flow from cathode to anode:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_tube

basically the process of thermionic emission:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermionic_emission
I was wondering this because I know that when cathode ray tubes are heated they eject electrons. I was postulating that if the internal KE of an object gets hot enough the atoms can collide with so much energy that the object would emit electrons, it looks like you were thinking the same thing as well. I am going to cover thermiomic emission as the last chapter in my AARL electronics book but thank you for telling me what it is. Friend thank you for the reply.
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
Shuffle your feet on carpeting on a dry day
Another great reply from you. I am honored to have you respond to my thread :nb)
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Greg Bernhardt