8.2 Conservation of Electric Charge and the Process of Charging

Describe the behavior of a system using conservation of charge.

• The net charge or charge distribution of a system can change in response to the presence of, or changes in, the net charge or charge distribution of other systems.
  • i. The net charge of a system can change due to friction or contact between systems.
  • ii. Induced charge separation occurs when the electrostatic force between two systems alters the distribution of charges within the systems, resulting in the polarization of one or both systems.
  • iii. Induced charge separation can occur in neutral systems.
• Any change to a system’s net charge is due to a transfer of charge between the system and its surroundings.
  • i. The charging of a system typically involves the transfer of electrons to and from the system.
  • ii. The net charge of a system will be constant unless there is a transfer of charge to or from the system.
• Grounding involves electrically connecting a charged object to a much larger and approximately neutral system (e.g., Earth). TOPIC 8.3 Electric Fields