PHYS 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Electroscope, Electric Field, Net Force

• School: McGill University
• Department: Physics
• Course: PHYS 102
• Professor: Nick Provatas

Document Summary

16. 3 insulators and conductors: materials like an iron nail is a conductor of electricity, whereas wood and rubber are nonconductors or insulators, some materials are intermediates of both and are called semiconductors. A positively charged metal object is brought close to an uncharged metal object. A negatively charged object is brought close to a metal object that is grounded, free electrons in the metal are repelled and many will move down the wire into the earth: this leaves the metal positively charged. If the wire is not cut, the metal object will have a positive induced charged on it. If a negative object is brought near a negatively charged electroscope, more electrons are induced to move down into the leaves and they separate further. If a positive charge is brought close instead, the electrons are induced to flow upward, leaving leaves less negative and their separation reduced.