Radiologi

c Physics
Essential Concepts of Identify the various forms of energy.

Radiologic Science ● Def ne electromagnetic radiation and ionizing

● LEARNING OBJECTIVES radiation. ● State the relative intensity of ionizing

● At the completion of this chapter, the student radiation from various ● sources.
should be able to do the following:

● Describe the characteristics of matter and energy. ● ● List the concepts of basic radiation protection.
● Discuss the derivation o scientific systems o measurement. ● List and def ne units of radiation and
radioactivity.

● In a physical analysis all things can be classified as matter or

energy. Matter is anything that occupies space and has
mass.

● A primary, distinguishing characteristic o matter is mass,

the quantity o matter contained in any physical object.

MATTER AND FORMS OF ENERGY

ENERGY ● Potential energy is the ability to do work by virtue of

● Matter is anything that occupies space. It is the position. ● Kinetic energy is the energy of motion.
material substance having mass o which physical objects
are composed. The fundamental, complex building
blocks of matter are atoms and molecules. ● Chemical energy is the energy released by a chemical
reaction.
● Similar to matter, energy can exist in several orms.
● Electrical energy represents the work that can be done ● Nuclear energy is the energy that is contained within
when an electron moves through an electric potential the nucleus of an atom.
difference (voltage).
● Electromagnetic energy is perhaps the least familiar
● Thermal energy (heat) is the energy of motion at the form of energy. It is the most important or our purposes,
molecular level. however, because it is the type o energy that is used in x-
ray imaging
● *Energy emitted and transferred through space
is called radiation

● Electromagnetic energy is usually re erred to as

electromagnetic radiation or, simply, radiation.

● Matter that intercepts radiation and absorbs part or all o it is

said to be exposed or irradiated.

● Ionizing radiation is a special type o radiation that includes x-

rays. Ionizing radiation is any type o radia- tion that is capable o
removing an orbital electron rom the atom with which it interacts

● Particulate and non-particulate radiation

SOURCES OF
IONIZING RADIATIO N
● Natural environmental radiation results in an annual
dose o approximately 3 millisieverts (mSv).

● Natural environmental radiation consists o our

components: cosmic rays, terrestrial radiation, inter-
nally deposited radionuclides, and radon.

SOURCES OF
IONIZING RADIATIO N
● Man-made radiation results in 3.2 mSv annually.

● Diagnostic x-rays constitute the largest man-made

source o ionizing radiation (3.2 mSv/yr).
 SOURCES
OF
IONIZING
RADIATI
ON

DISCOVERY
OF X RAYS laboratories were investigating the conduction o cathode
rays through a large, partially evacuated glass tube
● During the 1870s and 1880s, many university physics known as a Crookes tube.
 could better visualize the effects of the cathode rays in
● William Crookes the tube.

● The tube that bears his name was the forerunner o ● Roentgen’s initial investigations were extremely thor-
modern fluorescent lamps and x-ray tubes. ough, and he was able to report his experimental results
to the scientif c community be ore the end o 1895.
● On November 8, 1895, Roentgen was working in his
physics laboratory at Würzburg University in Germany. ● He produced and published the f rst medical x-ray
He had darkened his laboratory and completely enclosed image in early 1896.
his Crookes tube with black photographic paper so he

DISCOVERY
OF X RAYS
STANDARD UNITS OF STANDARD UNITS
MEASUREM ENT OF MEASUR EMENT
● Physics is the study o interactions o matter and energy ● The secondary quantities are called derived quanti- ties
in all their diverse orms. Similar to all scientists, physi- because they are derived from a combination of one or
cists strive or exactness or certainty in describing these more of the three base quantities. For example, volume is
interactions. length cubed (l3), mass density is mass divided by volume
(m/l3), and velocity is length divided by time (l/t).
● In addition to seeking certainty, physicists strive or
simplicity; there ore, only three measurable quantities ● Additional quantities are designed to support mea-
are considered basic. surement in specialized areas o science and technology.
These additional quantities are called special quantities; in
● These base quantities are mass, length, and time, and radiologic science, special quantities are those o
they are the building blocks o all other quantities. exposure, dose, e ective dose, and radioactivity.
STANDARD
UNITS OF
MEASURE
M ENT
 iridium cylinder represents the standard unit o mass—
LENGTH the kilogram (kg), which has the same mass as 1000 cm3
o water. The kilogram is a unit o mass, and the newton
● For many years, the standard unit o length was and the pound, a British unit, are units o weight.
accepted to be the distance between two lines engraved
on a platinum–iridium bar kept at the International
Bureau o Weights and Measures in Paris, France. This
distance was def ned to be exactly 1 m.

● In 1960 the need or a more accurate standard o length

TIME
led to redef nition o the meter in terms o the wavelength ● The standard unit o time is the second (s). Originally,
o orange light emitted rom an isotope o krypton the second was def ned in terms o the rotation o the
(krypton-86). One meter is now def ned as the distance Earth on its axis—the mean solar day. In 1956 it was
traveled by light in 1/299,792,468 second. redefined as a certain ractiono the tropical year 1900. In
1964 the need or a better standard o time led to another
redefinition.

MASS ● Now, time is measured by an atomic clock and is based

on the vibration o cesium atoms. The atomic clock is
● The kilogram was originally def ned to be the mass o capable o keeping time correctly to about 1 second in
1000 cm3 o water at 4° Celsius (°C). In the same vault in 5000 years.
Paris where the standard meter was kept, a platinum–
 unit. For example, the SID is 100 cm. The magnitude,
UNITS 100, is not meaning ul unless a unit is also designated.
Here, the unit o measurement is the centimeter.
● Every measurement has two parts: a magnitude and a
● MECHANICS

● Mechanics is a segment of physics that deals with objects at

rest (statics) and objects in motion (dynamics).

VELOCITY ● Velocity, some- times called speed, is a measure o how ast

something is moving or, more precisely, the rate o change o its

position with time.
 V0 – initial velocity
Vt – terminal velocity

ACCELER ATION
● The rate of change of velocity with time is acceleration.
It is how “quickly or slowly” the velocity is changing.
Because acceleration is velocity divided by time, the unit
is meters per second squared (m/s2).

● I velocity is constant, acceleration is zero. On the other

hand, a constant acceleration o 2 m/s2 means that the
velocity o an object increased by 2 m/s each second.
Newton’s Laws of
Motion WEIGHT
● In 1686 the English scientist Isaac Newton presented ● Weight (Wt) is a force on a body caused by the pull o
three principles that even today are recognized as gravity on it. Experiments have shown that objects that
fundamental laws of motion. all to Earth accelerate at a constant rate.

● Newton’s first law: Inertia—A body will remain at rest ● This rate, termed the acceleration due to gravity and
or will continue to move with constant velocity in a represented by the symbol g, is 9.8 m/s2 on Earth and 1.6
straight line unless acted on by an external force. m/s2 on the moon.
● Newton’s second law: Force—The force (F) that acts on
an object is equal to the mass (m) of the object multiplied
by the acceleration (a) produced F = ma *The SI unit of
force is the newton (N).

● Newton’s third law: Action/reaction—For every action,

there is an equal and opposite reaction.

MOMENTUM
● The product of the mass of an object and its velocity is
called momentum, represented by p increases.

● The greater the velocity o an object, the more

momentum the object possesses. A truck accelerating
down a hill, or example, gains momentum as its velocity

WORK ● The work done on an object is the orce applied times the distance

over which it is applied. In mathematical terms the unit o work is

the joule (J).

POWER ● The SI unit o power is the joule/second (J/s), which is a

watt (W). The British unit o power is the horse- power
(hp).
● Power is the rate of doing work.
ENERGY
● The unit o energy and work is the same, the joule. ●
ENERGY
Energy is the ability to do work. ● Potential energy is the stored energy o position or
configuration. A textbook on a desk has potential energy
● Two forms of mechanical energy o ten are used in because of its height above the floor ... and the potential
or a better job if it is read. It has the ability to do work by
radiologic science: kinetic energy and potential energy. falling to the ground. Gravitational potential energy is
Kinetic energy is the energy associated with the motion o given by the following:
an object as expressed by the following:
ENERGY ● Conduction is the trans er o heat through a material or
by touching.
● HEAT
● Convection is the mechanical trans er o “hot”
molecules in a gas or liquid from one place to another.
● Heat is the kinetic energy of the random motion of
molecules. ● Thermal radiation is the transfer of heat by the
emission o infrared radiation.
● The unit o heat, the calorie, is def ned as the heat
necessary to raise the temperature o 1 g o water by 1°C. ● *An x-ray tube cools primarily by radiation.

● HEAT TRANSFER
Radiologic Units
units o J/kg or Gyt.

● Effective Dose, Sievert (Sv). Occupational radiation

● Air Kerma (Kinetic Energy Released in Matter) (Gya). Air monitoring devices are analyzed in terms o sievert, which
kerma is the kinetic energy trans erred rom photons to is used to express the quantity o radiation received by
electrons during ionization and excitation. Air kerma is radiation workers and populations.
measured in joules per kilogram (J/kg) where 1 J/kg is 1
gray (Gya). ● Radioactivity, Becquerel (Bq). The becquerel is the unit
o quantity o radioactive material, not the radiation
● Absorbed Dose (Gyt). Biologic e ects usually are related emitted by that material. One becquerel is that quantity
to the radiation absorbed dose (rad). Absorbed dose is o radioactivity in which a nucleus disintegrates every s e c
the radiation energy absorbed per unit mass and has o n d ( 1 d / s = 1 Bq ) .

STRUCTURE
OF MATTER
● LEARNING OBJECTIVES
● At the completion of this chapter, the student should be able
to do the following:

● Relate the history of the atom.

● Identify the structure of the atom.

● Describe electron shells and instability within atomic

structure. ● Discuss radioactivity and the characteristics of

alpha and beta ● particles.

● Explain the difference between two forms of ionizing

radiation: ● particulate and electromagnetic.

CENTURIES OF DISCOVERY OF ATOMS
DISCOVERY OF ATOMS ● DALTON ATOM
● GREEK ATOM
● In 1808 John Dalton, an English schoolteacher,
published a book summarizing his experiments, which
● The earliest recorded reference to this investigation showed that the elements could be classi ed according to
comes from the Greeks several hundred years BC. integral values of atomic mass.
Scientists at that time thought that all matter was
composed of four substances: earth, water, air, and fire. ● According to Dalton, an element was composed of
identical atoms that reacted the same way chemically.
● According to them, all matter could be described as
combinations of these four basic substances in various ● The physical combination of one type of atom with
proportions, modi ed by four basic essences: wet, dry, another was visualized as being an eye- and-hook affair
hot, and cold.
CENTURIES OF
● The Greeks used the term atom, meaning “indivisi- ble”
[a (not) + temon (cut)] to describe the smallest part of the DISCOVERY OF ATOMS
four substances of matter. ● Some 50 years after Dalton’s work, a Russian scholar,
Dmitri Mendeleev, showed that if the elements were
arranged in order of increasing atomic mass, a periodic
CENTURIES OF repetition of similar chemical properties occurred. At that
time, about 65 elements had been identifed. Mendeleev’s
work resulted in the first periodic table of the elements. ● Through a series of ingenious experiments, Ernest
Rutherford in 1911 disproved Thomson’s model of the
atom. Rutherford introduced the nuclear model, which
described the atom as containing a small, dense,
CENTURIES OF positively charged center surrounded by a negative cloud
of electrons. He called the center of the atom the
DISCOVERY OF ATOMS nucleus.
● THOMSON ATOM

● In the late 1890s while investigating the physical

CENTURIES OF
properties of cathode rays (electrons), J.J. Thomson
concluded that electrons were an integral part of all
DISCOVERY OF ATOMS
atoms. ● Bohr Atom

● The number of electrons was thought to equal the ● In 1913 Niels Bohr improved Rutherford’s description of
quantity of positive electri cation because the atom was the atom. Bohr’s model was a miniature solar system in
known to be electrically neutral. which the electrons revolved about the nucleus in
CENTURIES OF prescribed orbits or energy levels.

DISCOVERY OF ATOMS ● For our purposes, the Bohr atom (see Figure 2-3D)
represents the best way to picture the atom, although
the details of atomic struc ture are more accurately
described by a newer model, called quantum
Nucleons— protons and neutrons—are
chromodynamics (QCD). composed of quarks that are held
together by gluons. These particles,
however, are of little consequence to
FUNDAMEN TAL radiologic science. Only the three
PARTICLES primary constituents of an atom, the
electron, the proton, and the neutron,
●Nuclear structure is now well defined. are considered here.
Because an atomic particle is extremely small, its mass is expressed in
atomic mass units (amu) for convenience.
The electron mass is 0.000549 amu.
When precision is not necessary, a system of whole numbers called atomic
mass numbers is used. The atomic mass number of an electron is zero. The
nucleus contains particles called nucleons, of which there are two types:
protons and neutrons. Both have nearly 2000 times the mass of an electron.
The mass of a proton is 1.673 × 10−27 kg; the neutron is just slightly heavier
at 1.675 × 10−27 kg.
 differ in the number of neutrons are isotopes; they
ATOMIC behave in the same way during chemical reactions.

STRUCTURE ● Electrons can exist only in certain shells, which rep-

resent different electron binding energies. For identi ca-
tion purposes, electron orbital shells are given the codes
● The atom is essentially empty space. K, L, M, N, and so forth, to represent the relative binding
energies of electrons from closest to the nucleus to
● The number of protons determines the chemical farthest from the nucleus.
element.

● Atoms that have the same number of protons but

•Electron Arrange ● 2n2
where n is the shell number.
ment ● ELECTRON ARRANGEMENT
● The maximum number of electrons that can exist in
each shell (Table 2-2) increases with the distance of the ● The number of electrons in the outermost shell is: ...
shell from the nucleus. These numbers need not be equal to its group in the periodic table.
memorized because the electron limit per shell can be ... determines the valence o an atom.
calculated from the expression:
● The number of the outermost electron shell is: ... equal
● MAXIMUM ELECTRONS PER SHELL to its period in the periodic table.

● No outer shell can contain more than eight electrons.

● The force that keeps an electron in orbit is the centripetal force.

● centrifugal force or ying-out-from-the-center force, so that

electrons maintain their distance from the nucleus while traveling
in a circular or elliptical path.
ELECTRON BINDING
nucleus is called the electron binding energy, designated
Eb. The closer an electron is to the nucleus, the more
tightly it is bound. K-shell electrons have higher binding
ENERGY energies than L-shell electrons, L-shell electrons are
more tightly bound to the nucleus than M-shell electrons,
● The strength of attachment of an electron to the and so forth.

● Isotopes

● Atoms that have the same atomic number but different

atomic mass numbers are isotopes.

● Isotopes of a given element contain the same number of protons

but varying numbers of neutrons. Most ele- ments have more than
one stable isotope. The seven natural isotopes of barium are as
follows:

● 130 Ba, 132 Ba, 134 Ba, 135 Ba, 136 Ba, 137 Ba, 138 Ba

● The term isotope describes all atoms of a given element.

Such atoms have different nuclear con gura- tions but
nevertheless react the same way chemically.
● Isobar

● Atomic nuclei that have the same atomic mass number

but different atomic numbers are isobars.

● Isobars are atoms that have different numbers of protons and

different numbers of neutrons but the same total number of
nucleons. Isobaric radioactive transi- tions from parent atom to
daughter atom result from the release of a beta particle or a
positron. The parent and the daughter are atoms of different
elements.
● Isotone

● Atoms that have the same number of neutrons but

different numbers of protons are isotones.

● Isotones are atoms with different atomic numbers and

different mass numbers but a constant value for the quantity
A–Z. Consequently, isotones are atoms with the same number
of neutrons in the nucleus.
 ● Isomer

● Isomers have the same atomic number and the same atomic
mass number.

● In fact, isomers are identical atoms except that they exist at

different energy states because of differences in nucleon
arrangement. Technetium-99m decays to technetium-99 with the
emission of a 140-keV gamma ray, which is very useful in nuclear
medicine. Table 2-4 presents a summary of the characteristics of
these nuclear arrangements.

COMBINATIO NS OF ● Compound

ATOMS ● A chemical compound is any quantity of one type of

molecule.
● Molecule
● The smallest particle of an element is an atom; the
● Atoms of various elements may combine to form smallest particle of a compound is a molecule.
structures called molecules.
RADIO RADIO ACTIVE HALF
ACTIVITY LIFE
● Some atoms exist in an abnormally excited state char- ● The rate of radioactive decay and the quantity of
acterized by an unstable nucleus. To reach stability, the material present at any given time are described
nucleus spontaneously emits particles and energy and mathematically by a formula known as the radioactive
transforms itself into another atom. This process is called decay law. From this formula, we obtain a quantity
radioactive disintegration or radioactive decay. The known as radioactive half-life (T1/2 ).
atoms involved are radionuclides.
● Half-life
● Radioactivity is the spontaneous emission of particles
and energy in order to become stable ● The half-life of a radioisotope is the time required for a

RADIOISO TOPES quantity of radioactivity to be reduced to one-half its

original value.

● Radioisotopes can decay to stability in many ways, but

two, beta emission and alpha emission, are impor- tant
here for descriptive purposes. Radioactive decay by
positron emission is important for some nuclear medi-
cine imaging.
 PARTICULA TE
RADIOACTIVE
DECAY
Activity remaining
=
Original activity
(0.5)n
RADIATION
● There are two main types of particulate radiation:
where n = number alpha particles and beta particles. Both are associated
o hal with radioactive decay.
lives.

TYPES OF IONIZING ● ALPHA PARTICLE

RADIATION ● An alpha particle is a helium nucleus that contains two

protons and two neutrons.
● All ionizing radiation can be conveniently classified into
two categories: particulate radiation and ● Ionization accompanies alpha radiation. The average
electromagnetic radiation alpha particle possesses 4 to 7 MeV of kinetic energy and
ionizes approximately 40,000 atoms for every centimeter
of travel through air.

● BETA PARTICLE
● A beta particle is an electron emitted from the nucleus ● Positron and Negatron
of a radioactive atom.
Electromag netic
disturbances in space.

● Gamma rays come from the nucleus. X-rays come from

Radiation the electron cloud.

● X-rays and gamma rays are forms of electromagnetic ● X-rays and gamma rays exist at the speed of light or
ionizing radiation. not at all. After being emitted, they have an ionization
rate in air of approximately 100 ion pairs/cm, about equal
● X-rays and gamma rays are often called photons. to that for beta particles. In contrast to beta par- ticles,
however, x-rays and gamma rays have an unlim- ited
Photons have no mass and no charge. They travel at the range in matter
speed of light (c = 3 × 108 m/s) and are considered energy

ELECTROMAGNETI
C ENERGY
● LEARNING OBJECTIVES

● At the completion of this chapter, the student should be able

to do the following:
 ● 1. Identiy the properties of photons.
2. Explain the inverse square law.
3. Define wave theory and quantum theory.
4. Discuss the electromagnetic spectrum.

PHOTONS ● A photon is the smallest quantity o any type o

electromagnetic energy, just as an atom is the smallest
quantity o an element. A photon may be pictured as a
● The ancient Greeks recognized the unique nature o small bundle o energy, sometimes called a quantum,
light. It was not one o their our basic essences, but light
was given entirely separate status. They called an atom o
light a photon. Today, ● An x-ray photon is a quantum of electromagnetic
many types o electro- magnetic energy in addition to energy.
visible light are recog- nized, but the term photon is still
used. ● Lateinthe19thcentury,JamesClerk Maxwell showed
that visible light has both electric and magnetic properties, hence the term electrom agnetic energy.

Velocity and
Amplitude
● Photons are energy disturbances that move through space at the speed o light (c). Some sources give the speed o
light as 186,000 miles per second, but in the SI system o units, it is 3 × 108 m/s.

● Sine waves exist in nature and are associated with many Familiar objects (Figure 3-2). Simplistically, sine waves
are variations of amplitude over time.
Frequency and
the photon travels with velocity c.

● The important properties o this model are frequency,

Wavelength represented by , and wave- length, represented by the
Greek letter lambda (λ).
● The sine wave model o electromagnetic energy
describes variations in the electric and magnetic felds as ● The wavelength is the distance rom one crest to
another, rom one valley to another, or rom any point on
the sine wave to the next corresponding point.

● Frequency is the number of wavelengths that pass a

point of observation per second.

● At a given velocity, wavelength and frequency are

inversely proportional.
ELECTROMAG NETIC ● The electromagnetic spectrum includes the entire
range of electromagnetic energy.
SPECTRUM ● The known electromagnetic spectrum has three
regions most important to radiologic science: visible
light, x- and gamma radiation, and RF. Other portions o part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
the spectrum include ultraviolet light, in rared light, and
microwave radiation.

● Diagnostic ultrasound is not a

● The energy of a photon is directly
proportional to its frequency.

Measurement
of the
Electromagne
tic Spectrum
VISIBLE LIGHT RADIO
● Although photons o visible light travel in straight lines,
their course can be deviated when they pass rom one
transparent medium to another. This deviation in line o
FREQUENCY
travel, called refraction, is the cause o many peculiar but ● A radio or television engineer describes radio waves in
amiliar phenomena, such as a rainbow or the apparent terms o their requency.
bending o a straw in a glass o water.
● Communication broadcasts are usually identif ed by
● The com- ponent colors o white light have wavelength their requency o transmission and are called
values ranging rom approximately 400 nm or violet to 700 radiofrequency (RF) emissions.
nm or red.
● Radio requency covers a considerable portion o the
● Visible light occupies the smallest segment o the electromagnetic spectrum. RF has relatively low energy
electromagnetic spectrum, and yet it is the only portion and relatively long wavelength.
that we can sense directly.
● Very-short-wavelength RF is microwave radiation.
Microwave requencies vary according to use but are
always higher than broadcast RF and lower than in ra-
red. Microwaves have many uses, such as cellular
telephone communication, highway speed monitoring,
medical diathermy, and hotdog preparation.
IONIZING RADIATION
types o photons exhibit both types o behavior— a
phenomenon known as the wave-particle duality o
electromagnetic energy.
● Di erent rom RF or visible light, ionizing electromag-
netic energy usually is characterized by the energy con- ● Photons interact with matter most easily when the
tained in a photon. When an x-ray imaging system is matter is approximately the same size as the photon
operated at 80 kVp, the x-rays it produces contain ener- wavelength.
gies ranging rom 0 to 80 keV.

● The only difference between x-rays and gamma rays is

Wave Model: Visible
their origin. Light
WAVES ● Many familiar phenomena o light, such as reflection,
absorption, and transmission, are most easily explained
by using the wave model of electromagnetic energy.
AND When a pebble is dropped into a still pond, ripples radiate
from the center of the disturbance like miniature waves.

PARTICLES ● Re ec-tion rom the silvered sur ace o a mirror is

common. Examples o transmission, absorption, and
● Visible-light photons tend to behave more like waves attenuation o light are equally easy to identi y.
than particles. The opposite is true o x-ray photons,
which behave more like particles than waves. In act both
● Radiopaque and radiolucent

Inverse Square Law

● When light is emitted rom a source such as the sun or a light bulb, the intensity decreases rapidly with the
distance rom the source. X-rays exhibit precisely the same property.

● This decrease in intensity is inversely proportional to

● the square o the distance o the object rom the source. Mathematically, this is called the inverse square law and
is expressed as follows:
Particle Model: ● The x-ray photon is a discrete bundle of energy.

Quantum Theory ● X-rays are created with the speed o light (c), and they
exist with velocity (c) or they do not exist at all. That is
● In contrast to other portions o the electromagnetic one o the substantive statements o Planck’s quantum
spectrum, x rays are usually identif ed by their energy, theory.
measured in electron volts (eV).
 conservation of energy, states that energy can be
neither created nor destroyed.

● Einstein and Planck greatly extended these theories.

According to quantum physics and the physics o rela-
tivity, matter can be trans ormed into energy and vice
versa. Nuclear f ssion, the basis or generating electric- ity,
is an example o converting matter into energy. In
radiology a process known as pair production (see
Chapter 9) is an example o the conversion o energy into
mass.

● RELATIVITY

● E = mc2
MATTER AND E in the equation is the energy measured in joules, m is
the mass measured in kilograms, and c is the velocity of
ENERGY light measured in meters per second.

● According to classical physics, matter can be neither

created nor destroyed, a law known as the law of
conservation of matter. A similar law, the law of
Electricity,
Magnetism, and
Electromagnetis
m
● LEARNING OBJECTIVES

● At the co mpletio n o this chapter, the student sho uld be

able to do the ollowing:

● Def ne electrif cation and provide examples.

● List the laws o electrostatics.

● Identi y units o electric current, electric potential, and

electric ● power.

● Identi y the interactions between matter and magnetic f

elds. ● Discuss the our laws o magnetism.

● Relate the experiments o Oersted, Lenz, and Faraday in def

ning ● the relationships between electricity and magnetism. ●

Identi y the laws o electromagnetic induction.
ELECTRO STATICS ● Electri cation can be created by contact, friction, or
induction.
● Electric charge comes in discrete units that are positive
or negative. Electrons and protons are the smallest units
o electric charge. The electron has one unit o negative
charge; the proton has one unit o positive charge. Thus
the electric charges associated with an electron and a
proton have the same magnitude but opposite signs.

● Electrostatics is the study of stationary electric charges.

ELECTRO STATICS
● Because of the way atoms are constructed, electrons o ● One object that is always available to accept electric
ten are free to travel from the outermost shell o one charges rom an electrif ed object is the Earth. The Earth
atom to another atom. Protons, on the other hand, are behaves as a huge reservoir or stray electric charges. In
fixed inside the nucleus of an atom and are not free to this capacity, it is called an electric ground.
move. Consequently, nearly all discussions of electric
charge deal with negative electric charges— that ● During a thunderstorm, wind and cloud movement can
associated with the electron. remove electrons rom one cloud and deposit them on
another (by induction). Both such clouds become electrif
● An object is said to be electrified if it has too few or too ed, one negatively and one positively.
many electron
● I the electrif cation becomes su f ciently intense, a ● The orce o attraction between unlike charges or
discharge can occur between the clouds; in this case, repulsion between like charges is attributable to the
electrons are rapidly transported back to the cloud that is electric f eld. It is called an electro- static force.
defcient. This phenomenon is called lightning.

● The smallest unit o electric charge is the electron. This

charge is much too small to be use ul, so the un-
damental unit o electric charge is the coulomb (C): 1 C =
6.3 × 1018 electron charges.

Electrostatic Laws
Electrostatic Laws ● Coulomb’s Law. The magnitude o the electrostatic orce is
● Four general laws o electrostatics describe how electric given by Coulomb’s law as ollows:
charges interact with each other and with neutral objects.

● Unlike charges attract; like charges repel.

● Associated with each electric charge is an electric f eld.

The electric f eld points outward rom a positive charge
and inward to a negative charge.
● The electrostatic force is very strong when objects are close
but decreases rapidly as objects separate. This inverse square
relationship or electrostatic force is the same as that or x-ray
intensity

● Electric charge of a conductor is concentrated along the

sharpest curvature of the surface.