Electrostatic Charging EX-9978 Page 1 of 9

Electrostatic Charging
Applications: DataStudio files: Charging.ds
Charges, the law of conservation of charge,
charging by contact and charging by induction.

EQUIPMENT

Includes:
1 Basic Electrometer ES-9078
1 Charge Producers and Proof Plane ES-9057C
1 Faraday Ice Pail and Shield ES-9042A
1 Conductive Spheres, 13 cm ES-9059C
1 Conductive Shapes ES-9061
1 Electrostatics Voltage Source ES-9077
Needed, but not included:
ScienceWorkshop 750 Interface CI-7650
DataStudio Software

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this activity is to compare and contrast the results of three different methods of charging: (1)
rubbing two objects together; (2) touching a charged object to a neutral one (charging by contact); and (3)
grounding a neutral object while it is polarized (charging by induction).

The experiment will also demonstrate the concept of net charge and the law of conservation of charge.

THEORY

Electric Charges
Electric charge is a fundamental property of nature. It comes in two types, called positive and negative. Positive
charge is the type of charge carried by protons. Negative charge is the type of charge carried by electrons.
Atoms normally have the same number of protons and electrons and this balance of charges makes them
electrically neutral. Most objects are found in this neutral state. For an object to be positively charged, it has to
have more protons than electrons, disturbing the neutral charge balance. For an object to be negatively charged,
it has to have more electrons than protons, disturbing the neutral charge balance.

Charging
All charging processes involve the transfer of electrons from one object to another. In order for an object to
become positively charged, it must lose some of its electrons. In order for an object to become negatively
charged, it must acquire more electrons. When two objects are rubbed together, one of them will give electrons
to the other. The law of conservation of charge requires that the total amount of electrons be conserved. That is,
electrons only move from one object to another, but no new electrons are created, nor do they disappear.
Overall, the two objects when considered together have zero net charge.

Written by C. A. Hernández
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Polarizing
The protons and electrons inside any object respond to electric forces of attraction or repulsion. When a neutral
object finds itself near a charged object, the charged object will exert opposite forces on the protons and the
electrons inside the neutral object, forcing them to move apart from each other. One side of the neutral object
will become “more positive” than the other side, that will become “more negative,” as electrons migrate
internally. This condition is called polarization, a word that refers to the object having “poles,” or opposite sides
with different electrical states, even though the object as a whole is still neutral.

SAFETY REMINDER
 Follow directions for using the equipment.

EQUIPMENT SETUP

1. Open the DataStudio file: Charging.ds

2. The file opens with a large meter display that mimics the electrometer screen.

3. Connect alligator clips of the electrometer’s cable assembly to the inner and outer baskets of the Faraday Ice
Pail.

Preparing to Record Data

Before starting any experiment using the Faraday Ice Pail and the Charge Producers, or before moving from one
activity to the next, all instruments may need to be grounded.

To ground the Ice Pail:

Make sure all alligator clips are properly attached to the baskets and to the electrometer. Use one finger to
touch the inner and outer baskets at the same time. Lift the finger off the inner basket first, and then take
your hand away. It works best if you are also grounded when doing this.

To ground the Electrometer:

After grounding the ice pail, press the ‘ZERO’ button on the electrometer.

To ground the Charge Producers:

One at a time, insert the Charge Producer wands into the inner basket. If they are uncharged, the needle in
the electrometer will stay at zero. If the needle moves, then there is residual charge in the wands. To
remove the residual charge, touch the charge producers to the outer basket of the grounded ice pail.
Sometimes if residual charge is hard to remove, you can breathe on the disks. The moisture from your
breath will remove the charges.
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PROCEDURE A: Charging by Rubbing Objects Together.

A Demonstration of Net Charge and the Law of Conservation of Charge

1. Ground the ice pail, zero the electrometer and make sure there is no charge in the charge producers. The
needle in the electrometer should be at zero.

2. In DataStudio: under Experiment, choose to Monitor Data. (Or press Alt-M.)

3. Hold one wand in each hand and lower them into the lower half of the inner basket, without letting them
touch each other or the walls of the basket. Since there is no net charge in either wand, the needle in the
monitor should not move and still read zero.

4. While inside the basket, briskly rub the two charge producers together and observe the needle in the
monitor. Record your observations in the Lab Report.

5. Stop rubbing. Still inside the basket, separate the wands and observe the needle in the monitor. Record your
observations in the Lab Report.

6. Take the dark wand out of the basket. Observe the needle in the monitor. Record your observations in the
Lab Report.

7. Insert the dark wand into the basket again and remove the white wand. Observe the needle in the monitor.
Record your observations in the Lab Report.

8. Stop monitoring the data.

Written by C. A. Hernández
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PROCEDURE PART B: Charging by Contact.

Charging the Ice Pail by Direct Contact with a Charged Wand

1. Ground the ice pail, zero the electrometer and make sure there is no charge in the charge producers. The
needle of the electrometer should be at zero.

2. Briskly rub the white and dark charge producers together to charge them.

3. Start monitoring the data.

4. Insert the white charge producer into the inner basket of the ice pail. Observe the motion of the electrometer
needle. Record your observations in the Lab Report.

5. Let the white disk on the charge producer touch the wall of the basket, and then take the wand out. Observe
the needle in the screen. Record your observations in the Lab Report.

6. Ground the ice pail again. The needle needs to go back to zero.

7. Insert the dark charge producer into the inner basket of the ice pail and let it touch the basket. Observe the
motion of the electrometer needle. Record your observations in the Lab Report.

8. Stop monitoring the data.

PROCEDURE PART C: Charging by Induction.

Charging the Ice Pail without Touching It with a Charged Object

1. Ground the ice pail, zero the electrometer and make sure there is no charge in the charge producers. The
needle of the electrometer should be at zero.

2. Rub the wands together to charge them.

3. Start monitoring the data.

4. Without letting the wand touch the ice pail, insert the white wand into the lower half of the inner basket.
Record your observations in the Lab Report.

5. While the charge producer is inside the basket, momentarily ground the ice pail. Observe the needle. Record
your observations in the Lab Report.

6. After grounding the ice pail, remove the wand. Observe the motion of the electrometer needle. Record your
observations in the Lab Report.

7. Repeat all steps (including the grounding) but this time use the dark charge producer.
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Lab Report: Electrostatic Charges

Name: ________________________________________________________________

Note: The answers to the fill-in-the-blanks questions are about the registers polarity of the
electrometer. Answer ‘Positive,’ ‘Negative,’ or ‘Zero.’

OBSERVATIONS PROCEDURE A:
Charging by Rubbing Objects Together

While rubbing the two charge producers together inside the basket:

The charge detected is __________.

After rubbing, with wands still in the basket, but not touching:

The charge detected is __________.

After removing the dark wand from the basket:

The charge detected on the white wand alone is __________.

The charge detected on the dark wand alone is __________.

QUESTIONS PROCEDURE A:

1. While the two wands were being rubbed against each other, what was their overall net charge?

2. After the rubbing process, what was the net overall charge of the two wands?

Written by C. A. Hernández
Electrostatic Charging EX-9978 Page 6 of 9

3. What is the evidence that the rubbing process gave each wand an electric charge?

4. What is the polarity of the white charge producer after rubbing it with the dark one? Did the white wand
gain or did it lose electrons during the rubbing process? Where did the electrons go (or come from)?

5. What is the polarity of the dark charge producer after rubbing with the white one? Did the dark wand gain or
did it lose electrons during the rubbing process? Where did the electrons go (or come from)?

6. Explain how this experiment demonstrates the law of conservation of charge.

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OBSERVATIONS PROCEDURE B:
Charging by Contact

After placing the white charge producer the inner basket:

The charge detected is ___________________.

After letting the charge producer touch the wall of the basket:

The charge detected is ___________________.

After inserting the dark charge producer into the inner basket and letting it touch the basket:

The charge detected is ___________________.

QUESTIONS PROCEDURE B:

1. Before the white wand touched the basket, what was the polarity of the white wand? What was the state of
the basket?

2. After the white wand touched the basket, what was the polarity of the basket? Did the basket gain or lose
electrons during the contact with the white wand? Where did the electrons go (or come from)?

3. After the dark wand touched the basket, what was the polarity of the basket? Did the basket gain or lose
electrons during the contact with the dark wand? Where did the electrons go (or come from)?

4. When a charged object touches an initially neutral object, the neutral object acquires a charge. How does the
polarity acquired by the initially neutral object compare to the polarity of the charged object that touched it?

Written by C. A. Hernández
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OBSERVATIONS PROCEDURE C:
Charging by Induction

Without letting the wand touch the ice pail:

The polarity of the charge on the white wand is _________________.

After grounding the ice pail and removing the wand:

The polarity of the charge on the pail is ___________________.

Repetition with the dark charge producer:

The polarity of the charge on the dark wand is _________________.

After the, the polarity of the charge on the pail is _______________.

QUESTIONS PROCEDURE C:
1. At the end of the process, how does the charge acquired by the pail compare to the polarity of the charge on
the wand that was used?

2. When using the white wand: Did the ice pail gain or lose electrons during the charging by induction
process? Where did the electrons go (or come from)?

3. When using the dark wand: Did the ice pail gain or lose electrons during the charging by induction process?
Where did the electrons go (or come from)?