Lesson 23.

Electric Phenomenon
 explain the contributions
At the end 1 of scientists in electricity
of the and magnetism.
lesson, you
should be
able to:
Electric Charge
• Electric charge is a physical property of a particle that allows
it to generate and interact with the electric field. The value
of the charge can be positive or negative.
• charge of a proton:

• charge of an electron
Coulomb
• The unit of charge is Coulomb (C).
• One Coulomb is equivalent to the total charge of
electrons or protons.
Contribution of Benjamin Franklin in the
Understanding of Electricity
• Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) visualized
electricity as fluid and coined the terms
“positive” and “negative.”
• During his time, the relationship between
electricity and lightning was known but not
fully understood. His famous kite experiment
gave him an idea that lightning was an
electrical discharge. This led him to invent a Benjamin
lightning rod. Franklin
Contribution of Benjamin Franklin in the
Understanding of Electricity
• Benjamin Franklin and Kite Experiment

Experiment with a kite

Contribution of Benjamin Franklin in the
Understanding of Electricity
• In his experiment, Franklin found out that
electrical sparks tend to jump to and from
sharp points.
• He also noticed that as a lightning bolt struck
the kite, the fibers of the kite string reacted
and stood at the end as a spark jumped to
the metal key.
Benjamin
Franklin
Contribution of Benjamin Franklin in the
Understanding of Electricity
• This proves that electricity
gathers from the cloud.
• The Leyden jar was used to
collect some of the charges.
• This experiment led to his
invention of the lightning
rod.
kite experiment
Contribution of Charles-Augustin de Coulomb in
the Understanding of Electricity and Magnetism
• Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (1736–1806)—
from whom the unit Coulomb was derived—
formulated what is now known as Coulomb’s
law.

Charles-Augustin
de Coulomb
Contribution of Charles-Augustin de Coulomb in
the Understanding of Electricity and Magnetism
• Coulomb’s Law

Identifying the direction of the electrical force

vector.
Contribution of Charles-Augustin de Coulomb in
the Understanding of Electricity and Magnetism
• Coulomb’s Law

The relationship between the distance and quantity of

charge to the force experienced by the charges.
Hans Christian Oersted in the Understanding of
Electricity and Magnetism
• Hans Christian Oersted (1777–1851) allowed
a current to pass through a wire.
• He noticed a nearby compass needle moved
in response to the current.
• He inferred that electric currents exert a
magnetic force.

Hans Christian
Oersted
Hans Christian Oersted in the Understanding of
Electricity and Magnetism
• Compass needles are usually affected by
nearby magnets, and if there are no nearby
magnets, they align with Earth’s magnetic
field, causing them to always point to the
north.

Hans Christian
Oersted
An electric current produces a magnetic field
Hans Christian Oersted in the Understanding of
Electricity and Magnetism

Diagram showing that electric current has a

magnetic field.
Hans Christian Oersted in the Understanding of
Electricity and Magnetism
• The right-hand rule is a handy way to
remember the relationship between the
direction of the magnetic field and the
direction of the current.

Hans Christian
Oersted
Electric Field
• Electric field is the area around a charged particle that
enables it to exert and experience forces with another
charged particle.
• The unit of the electric field is newton per coulomb (N/C).
• The electric field is stronger if the charge has a larger value
and grows weaker with increasing distance from the
charged particle.
Electric Field
• The direction of the electric field is radially away from the
positive charge and toward the negative charge.
• However, the field lines tend to bend in proximity with
another charge
Electric Field

Electric fields of isolated charged particles

Electric Field

Electric fields of two charged particles in

proximity
Magnetic Field
• The magnetic field is the area around a magnet that can
exert force to another magnet or a magnetic material.

Magnetic field lines of a bar magnet

Magnetic Field
• Magnetic fields tend to change their shape in the presence
of another magnet.

Magnetic field lines of two bar magnets in proximity.

Magnetic Field
• The unit of magnetic field is Tesla (T), which is equivalent to
N/(m·A) or newtons per meter-ampere.
• Current-carrying conductors are also surrounded by a
magnetic field.
• This is why they can exert force, as discovered by Oersted
and Ampère.
• The direction of the magnetic field can be determined using
the right-hand grip rule as explained in the previous
lessons.
Jean-Baptiste Biot and Felix Savart in the
Understanding of Electricity and Magnetism
• The Biot–Savart law established the relationship between
the magnetic field strength at a point positioned relative to
a conductor and the intensity of the current flowing through
that conductor.
Jean-Baptiste Biot and Felix Savart in the
Understanding of Electricity and Magnetism
• The law was deduced by two French physicists Jean-Baptiste
Biot (1774–1862) and Felix Savart (1791–1841) from the
experiments they conducted in 1820.

Jean-Baptiste Biot Félix Savart

Jean-Baptiste Biot and Felix Savart in the
Understanding of Electricity and Magnetism
• Ampère’s law is a further simplification of Biot–Savart law
that deals with symmetry (e.g., the point at the middle of a
ring-shaped conductor as opposed to just any point).
• This law was derived by James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879).
• It was called Ampère’s law because Maxwell’s derivation
used the earlier works of Ampère.
• It can be further simplified for specific shapes of
conductors.
Jean-Baptiste Biot and Felix Savart in the
Understanding of Electricity and Magnetism
• Suppose you have a current-carrying wire.
• This current produces a magnetic field (B) that surrounds
the wire.
• The magnetic field can be visualized as circular path.
• The length of the path represented by the blue dotted line is
equal to the circumference of a circle.
• Due to symmetry, the magnetic field will not vary at any
point along the circular path.
Jean-Baptiste Biot and Felix Savart in the
Understanding of Electricity and Magnetism
• Suppose you have a current-carrying wire.
• This current produces a magnetic field (B) that surrounds
the wire.
• The magnetic field can be visualized as circular path.
• The length of the path represented by the blue dotted line is
equal to the circumference of a circle.
• Due to symmetry, the magnetic field will not vary at any
point along the circular path.
 Jean-Baptiste Biot and Felix Savart in the
Understanding of Electricity and Magnetism

The imaginary loop encircling the straight wire is the magnetic field. The right
hand rule can be used to identify the direction of magnetic field (B) and current (I)
Michael Faraday and The law of electromagnetic
induction
 Electricity is the movement of charged particles from one
1 location to another.

Electric charge is a physical property of a particle that

2 allows it to generate and interact with the electric field.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) visualized electricity as

fluid and coined the terms “positive” and “negative.” He is
3 known for his kite experiment that led him to invent a
lightning rod.
 Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (1736–1806)—from whom
4 the unit coulomb was derived— formulated what is now
known as Coulomb’s law.
 Electric field is the area around a charged particle that
1 enables it to exert and experience forces with another
charged particle.

The magnetic field is the area around a magnet that can

2 exert force to another magnet or a magnetic material.

The Biot–Savart law established the relationship between

the magnetic field strength at a point positioned relative
3 to a conductor and the intensity of the current flowing
through that conductor.
Write true if the statement is correct and false if
otherwise.
1. Bodies with opposite charges will repel each other while
bodies with similar charges will attract each other.
2. The strength of the repulsive force between two like-
charged objects depends on the quantity of charge on each
object and the distance between them.
3. If the charge is doubled, the force remains the same.
4. The electrostatic constant is applied even when the charges
are immersed in denser media, such as water or metals.
Why does Benjamin Franklin decide to use silk
instead of paper in making the kite for his
experiment?
Atkinson, Nancy. “Who Discovered Electricity?” Universe Today. Accessed July 9, 2016.
http://www.universetoday.com/82402/who-discovered-electricity/.

Henderson, Tom. “Coulomb’s Law.” The Physics Classroom. Accessed July 9, 2016.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/estatics/Lesson-3/Coulomb-s-Law.

Stecher, Michael. “Franklin—The Scientist.” Math Problems. Accessed July 9, 2016.

http://www.math.tamu.edu/~stecher/489/Ben/science.shtml.