An electric charge is a fundamental property of matter that causes it to experience electromagnetic interactions. It can be either positive or negative, and like charges repel each other while opposite charges attract each other.
Large bodies, such as planets or stars, can become charged through various processes such as the build-up of static electricity or interactions with charged particles in space. These charges can affect the behavior of the body, for example, by causing lightning or altering the paths of charged particles in the body's vicinity.
No, electric charges cannot be created or destroyed. They can only be transferred from one object to another through processes such as rubbing or contact. This is known as the law of conservation of charge.
The magnitude of an electric charge is measured in coulombs (C). One coulomb is equal to the charge of 6.24×10^18 protons or electrons. This unit of measurement is named after the French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, who first studied the forces between electric charges.
Yes, large bodies can have a net electric charge of zero. This can occur if the positive and negative charges within the body cancel each other out, resulting in a neutral overall charge. Many objects in the universe, such as stars and planets, have a net charge of zero.