If you rub a balloon against your hair, the balloon
will steal electrons from your hair.
Normally, the positive and negative charges of an electroscope are equal.
They still equal if theres no charge object around. So they are balance everywhere.
NEUTRALIZE
When we move a negatively charge object near the electroscope terminal.
ALL we are doing is forcing the negative charge away from the terminal and down to
the FOILS.
IT will stay there as long as the charge object is around.
IF we move the charge object away the negative charge is returned to the way they
were and everything is balance and neutral again. Either way there is a positive
charge or negative chrage to neutralize it.
But, Now let see what will happen if I touch the terminal with my finger while the
charge object is near the terminal.
WE START with an equal number of positive and negative charge and everything is
neautralize.
We then move the negative object near the terminal and many of the negative
charges run away the foil. Causing the foil repel each other. BUT then while still
holding the negative object near the terminal, I touch the terminal with a finger. As
soon as i do that the foil comes together. Then when i move my finger. Theres no
changes in the foil. And lastly when i remove the charge object . The foils repel each
other and stay that way.
When i touch the terminal with my finger. I had another path of negative
charges to take, along with my finger and to the rest of my body. This is
call GROUNDING. There was still some negative charges on the terminal
but they didnt want to join the other ones on the foil because the
negative charge on the foil repel them. So for them the repeling force of
the negative charge on the charge object was balance up by the repeling
force of the negative charge on the foils. So they stay put. But with this
new path to take they are repelled to my finger and away. My body is
pretty big then this electroscope so i can handle a small negative charge
without making a significant difference to my overall charge balance.
BUT NOW THEY ARE gone the electroscopes terminal is more positive
than it was before and it attracts some of the negative charges from the
foil up to the terminal. Some escape to my finger and some remain.
BUT now the foils no longer have an extra negative charges so the
foil no longer repell each other. They come together again. Now with the
negatively charge object nearby. We move the finger away. Nothing changes as the
result. But now when we move the charge object away the foil repel to each other.
Its because the finger remove some negative charges on the electroscope. They
are no longer even number of positive and negative charges like they were always
before when we didnt use the finger. So in the electroscope they were more
positive charges than negatives charges. Its no longer neutral. So now the foil left
positively charge and since like charges repel. The foil repel each other.
ANOTHER interesting thing is that the electroscope is positively charge, when
we move a negatively charge near the terminal, that forces the negative charge
from the terminal down to the foils.
POTENTIONALLY balancing out the positive charges and causes the foil comes
together instead repelling apart.
The last interesting to show. When we move a positively charges across the
terminal while the electroscope itself is gatively charges, with the foil repelling each
other.
1. What happened to the paper/aluminium strips? What could be the reason
behind this?
We know that when you rub a balloon against your hair, the balloon will
steal electrons from your hair.
Normally, the positive and negative charges of an electroscope are
equal. They are still equal if theres no charge object around it. So, the
charges were neutralized and balance everywhere. When we move the
negatively charge object, which is the balloon near the electroscope terminal,
the paper strips moved away from each other. They repelled each other
because the negative object forced the negative charge in the electroscope
away from the terminal and down to the paper. It stayed that way as long as
the charged object was around.
2. Move the balloon away from the five-centavo coin.
If we move the balloon away, the negative charge was returned to the
way they were and everything is balance and neutral again. The paper strips
moved to each other.
3. What happens to the strips the moment the five-centavo coin made contact
with the other coin? Why do you think is the reason for what you have
observed?
While still holding the negative object near the terminal was touched
with a coin. As soon as we did that the paper comes together. Touching the
five-centavo coin with another coin gave the negative charges another path
to take.
There were still some negative charges on the terminal but they didnt
want to join the other ones on the paper because the negative charge on the
paper repels them. So for them the repelling force of the negative charge on
the charge object was balance up by the repelling force of the negative
charge on the paper. So they stay put. But with this new path to take they are
repelled to coin.
Some negative charges escape and transfer to the coin. This made the
electroscopes terminal more positive than it was before and it attracts some
of the negative charges from the paper up to the terminal.
4. Then move the plastic balloon away from the five-centavo coin.
Now with the negatively charge object nearby, the coin was moved
away. Nothing changes as the result. But now when we moved the charge
object away, the paper repel to each other. Its because the coin removed
some negative charges on the electroscope. They were no longer even
number of positive and negative charges like they were always before when
we didnt use the coin. So in the electroscope they were more positive
charges than negative charges. Its no longer neutral. So now the paper left
positively charge and since like charges repel. The paper repels each other.
Unlike, when we moved the balloon in Q2, the paper strips moved to
each other. This was because the negative charge was returned to the way
they were and everything is neutral again
5. While the above conditions are maintained, touch the five-centavo coin again
with another coin
The strips moved to each other.
6.
7. WHAT CONCEPTS HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THIS ACTIVITY?
Any conducting object, properly isolated in space and charged by
conduction, acquires a residual charge of the same sign as that of the body
touching.
