Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Therefore, the electrostatic field everywhere inside a conductive object is zero, and the electrostatic potential is constant. The electric field, E {\displaystyle \mathbf {E} } , in units of Newtons per Coulomb or volts per meter, is a vector field that can be defined everywhere, except at the location of point charges (where it diverges to ...
The electromagnetic force is responsible for many of the chemical and physical phenomena observed in daily life. The electrostatic attraction between atomic nuclei and their electrons holds atoms together. Electric forces also allow different atoms to combine into molecules, including the macromolecules such as proteins that form the basis of life.
Also, gravitational forces are much weaker than electrostatic forces. [2] Coulomb's law can be used to derive Gauss's law , and vice versa. In the case of a single point charge at rest, the two laws are equivalent, expressing the same physical law in different ways. [ 6 ]
Electrostatic discharge while fueling with gasoline is a present danger at gas stations. [20] Fires have also been started at airports while refueling aircraft with kerosene. New grounding technologies, the use of conducting materials, and the addition of anti-static additives help to prevent or safely dissipate the buildup of static electricity.
The gravitational and electromagnetic interactions produce long-range forces whose effects can be seen directly in everyday life. The strong and weak interactions produce forces at subatomic scales and govern nuclear interactions inside atoms. Some scientists hypothesize that a fifth force might exist, but these hypotheses remain speculative.
In the 19th and early 20th century, electricity was not part of the everyday life of many people, even in the industrialised Western world. The popular culture of the time accordingly often depicted it as a mysterious, quasi-magical force that can slay the living, revive the dead or otherwise bend the laws of nature.
An important step was around 1663 when Otto von Guericke invented [20] a machine that could automate triboelectric charge generation, making it much easier to produce more tribocharge; other electrostatic generators followed. [16] For instance, shown in the Figure is an electrostatic generator built by Francis Hauksbee the Younger.
Therefore electrostatic induction ensures that the electric field everywhere inside a conductive object is zero. A remaining question is how large the induced charges are. The movement of charges is caused by the force exerted on them by the electric field of the external charged object, by Coulomb's law .