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In physics, a charge is any of many different quantities, such as the electric charge in electromagnetism or the color charge in quantum chromodynamics. Charges correspond to the time-invariant generators of a symmetry group , and specifically, to the generators that commute with the Hamiltonian .
Electric charge (symbol q, sometimes Q) is a physical property of matter that causes it to experience a force when placed in an electromagnetic field. Electric charge can be positive or negative. Like charges repel each other and unlike charges attract each other. An object with no net charge is referred to as electrically neutral.
In physics, a charged particle is a particle with an electric charge. For example, some elementary particles, like the electron or quarks are charged. [1] Some composite particles like protons are charged particles. An ion, such as a molecule or atom with a surplus or deficit of electrons relative to protons are also charged particles.
where = is the distance of each charge from the test charge, which situated at the point , and () is the electric potential that would be at if the test charge were not present. If only two charges are present, the potential energy is Q 1 Q 2 / ( 4 π ε 0 r ) {\displaystyle Q_{1}Q_{2}/(4\pi \varepsilon _{0}r)} .
Charge quantization is the principle that the charge of any object is an integer multiple of the elementary charge. Thus, an object's charge can be exactly 0 e, or exactly 1 e, −1 e, 2 e, etc., but not 1 / 2 e, or −3.8 e, etc. (There may be exceptions to this statement, depending on how "object" is defined; see below.)
When charged particles move in electric and magnetic fields the following two laws apply: Lorentz force law: = (+),; Newton's second law of motion: = =; where F is the force applied to the ion, m is the mass of the particle, a is the acceleration, Q is the electric charge, E is the electric field, and v × B is the cross product of the ion's velocity and the magnetic flux density.
The charges must have a spherically symmetric distribution (e.g. be point charges, or a charged metal sphere). The charges must not overlap (e.g. they must be distinct point charges). The charges must be stationary with respect to a nonaccelerating frame of reference. The last of these is known as the electrostatic approximation. When movement ...
Because exchange of W bosons involves a transfer of electric charge (as well as a transfer of weak isospin, while weak hypercharge is not transferred), it is known as "charged current". By contrast, exchanges of Z bosons involve no transfer of electrical charge, so it is referred to as a "neutral current". In the latter case, the word "current ...