Electrostatics

Contents / notes

• Existence of positive and negative charges in matter.
• Charging a body by friction, contact and induction.
• Electroscope.
• Coulomb's inverse-square law, electric field and potential.
• Electric field intensity, potential and potential difference.
• Electric discharge and lightning.

Candidate objectives

• Identify electric charges.
• Examine the uses of an electroscope.
• Apply Coulomb's inverse-square law to solve problems.
• Deduce expressions for electric field intensity and potential difference.
• Identify electric field flux patterns of isolated and interacting charges.
• Analyse charge distribution on a conductor and its use in lightning conductors.
• Charge a body by friction, induction and contact.