The discussion revolves around the behavior of charged and neutral spheres when they come into proximity and touch each other. It explores concepts of charge induction, electrostatic forces, and the implications of charge conservation in this context.
Participants express differing views on the mechanisms of charge induction and the conditions under which it occurs. There is no consensus on the specifics of charge movement or the implications of grounding.
Some assumptions about the nature of the spheres (e.g., whether they are conductors or insulators) and the conditions of grounding remain unresolved. The discussion also reflects uncertainty about the exact processes involved in charge transfer upon contact.
likephysics said:Say you have a -vely charged sphere, you bring it close to a neutral sphere. Now the neutral sphere becomes +vely charged.
likephysics said:The neutral becomes +ve, because of induction (from the -vely charged sphere).
likephysics said:Charge is getting induced because of electrostatic force.
The sphere is not grounded. The +ve charges come towards the 1st sphere, the -ve move away from the first sphere.
likephysics said:Charge is getting induced because of electrostatic force.
The sphere is not grounded. The +ve charges come towards the 1st sphere, the -ve move away from the first sphere.
His post might also be describing induced polarization of the atoms in an insulator. The same toward/away description fits:gabbagabbahey said:So the neutral sphere is a conductor (otherwise the charges would not be free to move around) ...
A pith-ball electroscope, invented by British weaver's apprentice John Canton in 1754,[2] consists of a small ball of some lightweight nonconductive substance, originally pith, suspended by a silk thread from the hook of an insulated stand. In order to test the presence and magnitude of a charge on an object, the object is brought near to the uncharged pith ball.[3] If the object is charged, the pith ball will be attracted to it.
This attraction occurs because of induced polarization of the atoms in the pith ball. The pith is a nonconductor, so the electrons are not free to leave their atoms and move about the ball, but they can move a little within the atoms. If, for example, a positively charged object is brought near the ball, the negative electrons in each atom will be attracted and move slightly toward the side of the atom nearer the object. The positively charged nuclei will move slightly away. Since the negative charges are now nearer the object than the positive charges, their attraction is greater than the repulsion of the positive charges, resulting in a net attractive force. This separation of charge is microscopic, but since there are so many atoms, the tiny forces add up to a large enough force to move a light pith ball.