What is the relation between positive and negative charges?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion explores the relationship between positive and negative charges, examining concepts related to electric charge, its properties, and analogies used to describe these charges. The scope includes theoretical explanations and conceptual clarifications.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that positive and negative charges can be thought of in terms of an "electrical fluid," where positive charges act as sources and negative charges as sinks.
  • One participant explains that a source is where the 'fluid' appears to come from, while a sink is where it seems to go, using the analogy of a tap and drain.
  • Another participant describes the balance of charge in neutral atoms, noting that the movement of electrons leads to net positive or negative charges in materials.
  • It is mentioned that electric charge is a property of fundamental particles, with rules governing the interactions between different types of charges, such as attraction and repulsion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various analogies and explanations regarding the nature of positive and negative charges, but no consensus is reached on a singular definition or understanding of the relationship between them.

Contextual Notes

Some explanations rely on analogies that may not fully capture the complexities of electric charge interactions. The discussion includes varying levels of understanding among participants, which may affect the clarity of the concepts presented.

abi.ayan
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Is it the absence and presence of an electrical fluid called as positive and negative charges?
 
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hi abi.ayan! welcome to pf! :smile:

if you want to think in terms of fluid, you can regard the electric field as a fluid which obeys conservation of mass except at the position of electric charges …

then the positive charges are sources, and the negative charges are sinks :wink:
 
what do mean by sources and sink?I don't have much knowledge in terms related to this field.so could you explain it in simple terms??
 
A source is a location/object out of which the 'fluid' will appear to come out of. A sink is just the opposite - it is where the 'fluid' appears to go and vanish. So if you were in a bathroom, the tap would be your source, and the drain your sink. Similarly, field lines emerge from positive charges, so they are called sources, and vice versa for negative charges.
 
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In a neutral atom the charge of the electron and proton are equal. The atoms of many materials are able to gain and loose electrons giving them a net charge. If the material gains electrons it has a net negative charge. If it looses electrons it has a net positive charge due to excess number of protons.

In a conductor Electrons are free to move from atom to atom. The protons are fixed in place. The protons appear to move but it's really the "absence of electrons" that is moving.
 
abi.ayan said:
Is it the absence and presence of an electrical fluid called as positive and negative charges?

Some fundamental particles have a property that we call electric charge. The rules that this property seems to obey tell us that there are two different "types" of charges, which we have labeled as positive and negative. According to these rules, two similar charges will repel each other while two opposite charges will attract.

The relation between positive and negative charges is simply that both are types of electric charge. Electric charge is only one of many different properties that particles have. For example, mass and spin are also properties of particles.
 

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