A student said, “When you touch a charged piece of metal, the metal is no longer charged: all the charge on the metal is neutralized.” As a practical matter, this is nearly correct, but it Isn’t exactly right. What’s wrong with saying that all the charge on the metal is neutralized?

Short Answer

Expert verified

The saying is wrong because the charge on metal is positive.

Step by step solution

01

Concept/Significance of charge on a particle

The electrical charge is a feature of some elementary particles that causes them to interact, resulting in a variety of material phenomena.

02

Explanation of the statement

When it touches a charged piece of metal, the negatively charged object attracts positive ions from the skin, and the object redistributes its charge almost neutralizing the excess negative charge on the object.} {Similarly, a positive metal surface would attract negative ions from the skin, which give up an electron to the metal. The body acquires a net positive charge.

Thus, the saying is wrong because the charge on metal is positive.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

An electric field is applied to a solution containing bromide ions. As a result, the ions move through the solution with an average drift speed of 3.7×10-7m/s. The mobility of bromide ions in solution is 8.1×10-8(m/s)(N/C). What is the magnitude of the net electric field inside the solution?

Figure 14.69 shows a neutral, solid piece of metal placed near two points charges. Copy this diagram.

(a) On your diagram, show the polarization of the piece of metal.

(b) Then, at location A inside the solid piece of metal, carefully draw and label three vectors: (1) E1, the electric field due to -q1; (2) E2, the electric field due to +q2; (3) E3, the electric field due to all of the charges on the metal.

(c) Explain briefly why you drew the vectors the way you did.

Atom Ais easier to polarize than atom B. Which atom, Aor B, would experience a greater attraction to a point charge a distance raway? Explain your reasoning.

Can you charge a piece of plastic by induction? Explain, using diagram. Compare with the amount of charging obtained when you charge a piece of metal by induction.

: A thin, hollow spherical plastic shell of radius \({\bf{R}}\)carries a uniformly distributed negative charge \({\bf{ - Q}}\). A slice through the plastic shell is shown in Figure 14.95. To the left of the spherical shell are four charges packed closely together as shown (the distance \({\bf{s}}\) is shown greatly enlarged for clarity). The distance from the center of the four charges to the center of the plastic shell is \({\bf{L}}\) , which is much larger than \({\bf{s}}\left( {{\bf{L}} \gg {\bf{s}}} \right)\). Remember that a uniformly charged sphere makes an electric field as though all the charge were concentrated at the center of the sphere.

(a)Calculate the \({\bf{x}}\) and \({\bf{y}}\) components of the electric field at location B, a distance \({\bf{b}}\) to the right of the outer surface of the plastic shell. Explain briefly, including showing the electric field on a diagram. Your results should not contain any symbols other than the given quantities \({\bf{R,Q,q,s,L}}\), and \({\bf{b}}\)(and fundamental constants). You need not simplify the final algebraic results except for taking into account the fact that \({\bf{L}} \gg {\bf{s}}\).

(b)What simplifying assumption did you have to make in part (a)?

(c)The plastic shell is removed and replaced by an uncharged metal ball, as in Figure 14.96. At location Ainside the metal ball, a distance \({\bf{b}}\)to the left of the outer surface of the ball, accurately draw and label the electric field\({{\bf{\vec E}}_{{\bf{ball}}}}\) due to the ball charges and the electric field \({{\bf{\vec E}}_{\bf{4}}}\) of the four charges. Explain briefly.

(d)Show the distribution of ball charges.

(e)Calculate the \({\bf{x}}\) and \({\bf{y}}\) components of the net electric field at location A.

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