Phys 259, Labatorial 1, Winter 2018

University of Calgary
Department of Physics and Astronomy
PHYS 259, Winter 2018

Labatorial 1: Electric Charges and the Forces between them

Electrostatics is the study of the forces between objects that carry

an electric charge. Electric charges can either be positive or neg-
ative, and these charge can neither be created nor destroyed, but
simply flow from one object to another. Any two charged ob-
jects exert an electric force on each other equal in magnitude
and opposite in direction; opposite charges attract, like charges
repel. The magnitude of the electric force between two point
1 |q1 q2 |
charges is given by Coulomb’s law, FC (r) = 4π 0 r 2 . (Image
from fisitech.wordpress.com)

An important application of the electric

force is the electrostatic scrubber, shown in
the figure on the right. It is used to remove
dust, smoke, bacteria and other microm-
eter or submicrometer size particles from
exhaust gases or indoor air: charged air-
borne particles are attracted by the oppo-
sitely charged scrubbing droplets. (Image
from www.imp.gda.pl, where you can learn
more about this procedure.)

Goals:
To understand how a macroscopic object acquires a net charge, and what that means on a microscopic level.
To practice how to find the resulting force on a charge by using vector addition.

Preparation:
Halliday, Resnick, and Walker, “Fundamentals of Physics” 10th edition, Wiley: 21.1–21.3.

Equipment:
Scotch tape; ruler; the applet mixed charges, which was developed using the resources available on the
Davidson University website, http://webphysics.davidson.edu.

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 Phys 259, Labatorial 1, Winter 2018

1 “Static Electricity”

Question 1: As a precaution, the levers on gasoline pumps in many provinces in Canada must be manually
operated at all times. One of the reasons for this is especially relevant in the winter time because the fabrics
used for heavy clothing and coats makes it easy to build up a static electric charge. Explain why it could be
dangerous to allow someone to have the gas continue pumping while they are doing something else; imagine
what might happen when they come back and touch the pump.

2 Electric Charge and Charge Carriers

Question 2: What is an electric charge? Try to write down a definition.

Question 3: When an object acquires an electric charge, is the charge created and then placed on the
object, or is the charge transferred from one object to another? Explain.

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 Phys 259, Labatorial 1, Winter 2018

Question 4: Macroscopic objects are often electrically neutral. Does this mean that they are not carrying
any charges?

Question 5: Consider a solid object that carries a net positive charge: to acquire that positive charge, are
protons added to it, are electrons removed from it, or does that vary from case to case? Hint: think about
atomic structure, in particular what the number of protons and electrons in an atom signify.

Question 6: Materials in which electrons move freely are called conductors, whereas materials in which
electrons are stuck in place are called insulators. Is it possible to electrically charge both kinds of material?
Explain and provide one example for each.

Question 7: An insulator can often acquire a net charge by rubbing it against another insulating material;
one such example is when a plastic rod is rubbed against a piece of fur. Could a metal rod be charged by
the same technique? Explain why or why not.

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 Phys 259, Labatorial 1, Winter 2018

CHECKPOINT 1: Before moving on to the next part, have your TA check

the results you obtained so far.

3 Electric forces between two point charges

Question 8: The figure below shows two point charges of −1µC and +1µC. Draw the force vectors on
each charge, making sure to accurately represent the relative lengths of the force vectors. How would the
direction and magnitude of the force vectors change if the distance between the two charges were doubled?

_ +

Question 9: This time, consider two point charges of −1µC and +2µC. Draw the force vectors on each
charge. Is the force on the −1µC charge greater than the force on the +2µC charge? Why or why not?

_ ++

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 Phys 259, Labatorial 1, Winter 2018

Question 10: For the configuration of charges in Question 9, what would the distance between the charges
have to be in order to double the magnitude of the force?

4 Superposition of electric forces in one dimension

Question 11: The figure shows four configurations of three charges in one dimension. For each configura-
tion, draw the forces acting on the middle charge, then use a different colour to draw the net force on the
middle charge. Note: the relative magnitudes must be correct.

x
+ + +

x
_
+ +

x
_
+ +

x
+ _ _

Question 12: A charge q1 = +2.0 nC is located at the origin, and a second charge q2 = +4.0 nC is located
at position x = d.
a) At what position x will a q = −1 nC charge experience zero net force?

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 Phys 259, Labatorial 1, Winter 2018

b) In part (a), you should have found two mathematical solutions. Using a sketch, explain how you know
which one is the physical solution. (You may use the applet “mixed charges” to study the two situations.)

c) What physical situation does the other mathematical solution correspond to?

CHECKPOINT 2: Before moving on to the next part, have your TA check

the results you obtained so far.

5 The Electric Force in Two Dimensions

Question 13: The electric force between the electrons and protons in an atom is what holds the atom
together. In Bohr’s model of the hydrogen atom, the electron orbits the proton on a circular path with a
diameter of approximately 10−10 m. Use the Coulomb force to calculate the speed with which the electron
orbits the proton in this model.

Question 14: In larger atoms, there are several protons inside the nucleus, and they are all positively
charged. Calculate the minimum electrostatic force between two protons inside a nucleus of diameter 4×10−15
m.

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 Phys 259, Labatorial 1, Winter 2018

Question 15: Is the force calculated in the previous question repulsive or attractive? How do you know?

Question 16: If there is such a strong repulsive force between the protons, there must be an even stronger
attractive force between them to keep the nucleus together. Is this the gravitational force between the
protons? Support your conclusion with a calculation.

Question 17: Calculate the ratio of the Coulomb force to the gravitational force, FC /Fg , between an
electron and a proton inside a hydrogen atom.

What is the ratio if they are 100 km apart?

Last Checkpoint! Clean up your area, and put the equipment back the way
you found it. Call your TA over to check your work and your area before
you can get credit for the labatorial.

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 Phys 259, Labatorial 1, Winter 2018

Equations and Constants

m1 m2
Fg (r) = G
r2
Ug (y) = mgy 2
1 g = 9.81 m/s
K = mv 2 G = 6.67 × 10−11 N · m2 /kg2
2
vx (t) = v0x + ax t 1
= 8.99 × 109 N · m2 /C2
1 4π0
x(t) = x0 + v0x t + ax t2
2 0 = 8.85 × 10−12 C2 /N · m2
vx2 (t) = 2
v0x + 2ax (x(t) − x0 ) e = 1.60 × 10−19 C
dθ me = 9.11 × 10−31 kg
ω =
dt
mp = 1.67 × 10−27 kg
2πr
v = = ωr mn = 1.67 × 10−27 kg
T
2
v
arad = = ω2 r
r

1 |q1 q2 |
FC (r) = magnitude of the Coulomb (electrostatic) force between two charges
4π0 r2
√
−b ± b2 − 4ac
x = solutions of the quadratic equation ax2 + bx + c = 0
2a