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Electrostatics is a branch of physics that studies slow-moving or stationary electric charges. Since classical times , it has been known that some materials, such as amber , attract lightweight particles after rubbing .
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.
Electrostatic machines are typically used in science classrooms to safely demonstrate electrical forces and high voltage phenomena. The elevated potential differences achieved have been also used for a variety of practical applications, such as operating X-ray tubes, particle accelerators, spectroscopy, medical applications, sterilization of food, and nuclear physics experiments.
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.
The concept of an electrostatic generator in which charge is mechanically transported in small amounts into the interior of a high-voltage electrode originated with the Kelvin water dropper, invented in 1867 by William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), [3] in which charged drops of water fall into a bucket with the same polarity charge, adding to the charge. [4]
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.
Waves in plasmas can be classified as electromagnetic or electrostatic according to whether or not there is an oscillating magnetic field. Applying Faraday's law of induction to plane waves , we find k × E ~ = ω B ~ {\displaystyle \mathbf {k} \times {\tilde {\mathbf {E} }}=\omega {\tilde {\mathbf {B} }}} , implying that an electrostatic wave ...
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 .