ECE106 Study Guide - Electric Charge, Equipotential, Gaussian Surface

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Course: ECE106
• Professor: Michael Balogh

Document Summary

An atom has a nucleus comprised of protons (p+) and neutrons (n). It is surrounded by an electron (e-) cloud. Each has a charge of 1. 6 10 19 c (note that a single coloumb would be fucking huge. ). Any atom with an equal amount of electrons and protons is electrically neutral. If one or more electrons is removed, the atom is positively charged. In a conductor, the electrons" bond to the nucleus is very weak. This means the electrons are free to move, and thus we say the conductor has a low internal resistance. By bringing a charged object nearby, we can induce a charge into such a medium. In an insulator, the electrons are not free to move; however, the atoms can be slightly. We can also induce charge in inductors: this is known as polarizability. Electromagnetic force is the second strongest of the four fundamental forces, weaker only than the strong force, which has extremely short range.