TO ESTIMATE THE CHARGE INDUCED ON EACH

OF THE TWO IDENTICAL STRYO FOAM (OR PITH)

BALLS SUSPENDED IN A VERTICAL PLANE BY
MAKING USE OF COULOMB’S LAW

COULOMB

Coulomb graduated in November 1761 from École royale du génie de Mézières. Over the
next twenty years he was posted to a variety of locations where he was involved in
engineering - structural, fortifications, soil mechanics, as well as other fields of engineering.
His first posting was to Brest but in February 1764 he was sent to Martinique, in the West
Indies, where he was put in charge of building the new Fort Bourbon and this task occupied
him until June 1772.

On his return to France, Coulomb was sent to Bouchain. However, he now began to write
important works on applied mechanics and he presented his first work to the Académie des
Sciences in Paris in 1773. In 1779 Coulomb was sent to Rochefort to collaborate with the
Marquis de Montalembert in constructing a fort made entirely from wood near Ile d'Aix.
During his period at Rochefort, Coulomb carried on his research into mechanics, in particular
using the shipyards in Rochefort as laboratories for his experiments.

Upon his return to France, with the rank of Captain, he was employed at La Rochelle, the Isle
of Aix and Cherbourg. He discovered an inverse relationship of the force between electric
charges and the square of its distance, later named after him as Coulomb's law.

COULOMB’S LAW
In 1785 Augustine de Coulomb investigated the attractive and repulsive forces between
charged objects, experimentally formulating what is now referred to as Coulomb’s Law:
“The magnitude of the electric force that a particle exerts on another is directly proportional
to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between them.” Mathematically, this electrostatic F acting on two charged particles (q1, q2)
is expressed as

where r is the separation distance between the objects and k is a constant of proportionality,
called the Coulomb constant, k = 9.0 × 109 N · m2/C2. This formula gives us the magnitude
of the force as well as direction by noting a positive force as attractive and a negative force
as repulsive. Noting that like charges repel each other and opposite charges attracting each
other, Coulomb measured the force between the objects, small metal coated balls, by using
a torsion balance similar to the balance used to measure gravitational forces.

OBJECTIVE:
To estimate the charge induced on each of the two identical stryo foam (or pith) balls
suspended in a vertical plane by making use of coulomb’s law.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:
 Small size identical balls (pitch or soft plastic)

 Physical balance or electronic balance

 Half-meter Scale

 Cotton thread

 Stand

 Glass rod (or plastic rod)

 Silk cloth (or woollen cloth)

THEORY:
The fundamental concept in electrostatics is electrical charge. We are all familiar with the
fact that rubbing two materials together — for example, a rubber comb on cat fur — produces
a “static” charge. This process is called charging by friction. Surprisingly, the exact physics
of the process of charging by friction is poorly understood. However, it is known that the
making and breaking of contact between the two materials transfers the charge.

The charged particles which make up the universe come in three kinds: positive, negative,
and neutral. Neutral particles do not interact with electrical forces. Charged particles exert
electrical and magnetic forces on one another, but if the charges are stationary, the mutual
force is very simple in form and is given by Coulomb's Law:

where F is the electrical force between any two stationary charged particles with
charges q1 and q2(measured in coulombs), r is the separation between the charges
(measured in meters), and k is a constant of nature (equal to 9×109 Nm2/C2 in SI units).

The study of the Coulomb forces among arrangements of stationary charged particles is
called electrostatics. Coulomb's Law describes three properties of the electrical force:

1. The force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the charges,
and is directed along the straight line that connects their centers.

2. The force is proportional to the product of the magnitude of the charges.

3. Two particles of the same charge exert a repulsive force on each other, and two
particles of opposite charge exert an attractive force on each other.
Most of the common objects we deal with in the macroscopic (human-sized) world are
electrically neutral. They are composed of atoms that consist of negatively charged electrons
moving in quantum motion around a positively charged nucleus. The total negative charge
of the electrons is normally exactly equal to the total positive charge of the nuclei, so the
atoms (and therefore the entire object) have no net electrical charge. When we charge a
material by friction, we are transferring some of the electrons from one material to another.

Materials such as metals are conductors. Each metal atom contributes one or two electrons
that can move relatively freely through the material. A conductor will carry an electrical
current. Other materials such as glass are insulators. Their electrons are bound tightly and
cannot move. Charge sticks on an insulator, but does not move freely through it.
A neutral particle is not affected by electrical forces. Nevertheless, a charged object will
attract a neutral macroscopic object by the process of electrical polarization. For example, if
a negatively charged rod is brought close to an isolated, neutral insulator, the electrons in the
atoms of the insulator will be pushed slightly away from the negative rod, and the positive
nuclei will be attracted slightly toward the negative rod. We say that the rod
has induced polarization in the insulator, but its net charge is still zero.

The polarization of charge in the insulator is small, but now it’s positive charge is a bit closer
to the negative rod, and its negative charge is a bit farther away. Thus, the positive charge is
attracted to the rod more strongly than the negative charge is repelled, and there is an overall
net attraction.

If the negative rod is brought near an isolated, neutral conductor, the conductor will also be
polarized. In the conductor, electrons are free to move through the material, and some of
them are repelled over to the opposite surface of the conductor, leaving the surface near the
negative rod with a net positive charge. The conductor has been polarized, and will now be
attracted to the charged rod.
Now if we connect a conducting wire or any other conducting material from the polarized
conductor to the ground, we provide a “path” through which the electrons can move.
Electrons will actually move along this path to the ground. If the wire or path is subsequently
disconnected, the conductor as a whole is left with a net positive charge. The conductor has
been charged without actually being touched with the charged rod, and its charge is opposite
that of the rod. This procedure is called charging by induction.

Let the force between two stationary charges be F:

The Weight of the ball:

𝑾 = 𝒎𝒈
The restoring force on each ball:

= 𝒎𝒈𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽
From the diagram in the below
In triangle ACB:

𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝜽 = 𝒙/𝟐𝒍

Let the charge on each ball is:

q1=q2=q
Then at equilibrium
𝒌𝒒 𝑿 𝒒
𝒎𝒈𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝜽 =
𝒙𝟐

𝒙 𝒌𝒒𝟐
mg =
𝟐𝒍 𝒙𝟐

𝒎𝒈𝒙𝟑
g=
𝟐𝒍𝒌

PROCEDURE:

1. Weight the mass of each identical pitch balls by balance and note down it.

2. Tie the balls with two silk or cotton threads and suspend at a point on a stand or a
rigid support. Measure the length of threads by half meter scale. The length of threads
should be equal. Note down the length.

3. Rub the glass rod with silk cloth and touch with both balls together so that the balls
acquired equal charge.
 4. Suspend the balls freely and the balls stay away a certain distance between the balls
when they become stationary. Note down the distance.

5. Touch any one suspended ball with other uncharged third ball and takes the third ball
away and repeat the step 4.

6. Touch other suspended ball with other uncharged fourth ball and takes the fourth ball
away and repeat the step 4.

OBSERVATION:

1. Mass of each ball,(m) = _____g.

2. Radius of each ball,(r) = _____mm.
3. Length of each thread,(l) = _____cm.

[Link] CHARGE ON CHARGE ON DISTANCE BETWEEN THE

BALL A BALL BALLS
(q1) B (x cm)
(q2)

1.

2.

3.

4.
CALCULATION:
By using the relation:
½
𝒎𝒈𝒙𝟑
g=
𝟐𝒍𝒌

Calculate the charge in each case:

RESULTS:
The charge on each ball = _______C

PRECAUTIONS:
1. The suspended balls should not be touched by any conducting body.
2. Rub the glass rod properly with the silk cloth to produce more charge.
3. Weight the mass of the balls accurately.

SOURCE OF ERROR:
1. The balls may not be of equal size and mass.
2. The distance between the balls may be measured accurately.