Transfer of Charges

Transfer of Charges

As we saw earlier, electrons (negative electric charges) in the outermost orbit of an atom can be easily removed. They can be transferred from one substance to another. The substance which gains electrons become negatively charged and the substance which looses electrons becomes positively charged. Transfer of charges takes place in the following ways.

* Transfer by Friction

* Transfer by Conduction

* Transfer by Induction

1. Transfer by Friction

Activity 1

Take a comb and place it near some pieces of paper. Are they attracted by the comb? No. Now comb your dry hair and place it near them. What do you see? You can see that the paper pieces are attracted by the comb now. How is it possible?

Answer: Comb attracts a bits of paper because Comb is charged object and paper is in neutral so, to be charged one must be in neutral and Comb is negative charged as it gains electrons from hair. Since ,when Comb is placed near to a bits of paper then papers get charged due to induction. 

Comb rubbed with hair gains electrons from the hair and becomes negatively charged. These electrons are accumulated on the surface of the comb. When a piece of paper is teared into bits, positive and negative charges are present at the edges of the bits. Negative charges in the comb attract positive charges in the bits. So, the paper bits are moving towards the comb. While combing hair, charges are transferred from the hair to comb due to friction. If the hair is wet, the friction between the hair and the comb reduces which will reduce the number of electrons transferring from hair to comb. Hence, rubbing certain materials with one another can cause the build-up of electrical charges on the surfaces. From this it is clear that charges are transferred by friction.

A neutral object can become positively charged when electrons get transferred to another object; not by receiving extra positive charges.

Similar effect can be seen when we rub few materials with one another. When a glass rod is rubbed with a silk cloth the free electrons in the glass rod are transferred to silk cloth. It is because the free electrons in the glass rod are less tightly bound as compared to that is in silk cloth. Since the glass rod looses electrons, it has a deficiency of electrons and hence acquires positive charge. But, the silk cloth has excess of electrons. So, it becomes negatively charged.

When an ebonite rod (rod made by vulcanized rubber) is rubbed with fur, the fur transfers electrons to the ebonite rod because the electrons in the outermost orbit of the atoms in fur are loosely bound as compared to the ebonite rod. The ebonite rod which has excess electrons becomes negatively charged and the fur which has deficiency of electrons is positively charged.

From these we know that when two materials are rubbed together, some electrons may be transferred from one material to the other, leaving them both with a net electric charge.

If a positively charged glass rod is brought near another glass rod, the rods will move apart as they repel each other. If a positively chargedglass rod is brought close to a negatively charged ebonite rod, the rods will move toward each other as they attract. The force of attraction or repulsion is greater when the charged objects are closer.

2. Transfer by Conduction

Activity 2

Take a sheet of paper. Turn it into a hollow cylinder. Tie one end of the cylinder with a silk thread and hang it from a stand. Now take an ebonite rod and charge it by rubbing it with a woollen cloth. Bring this charged ebonite rod near the paper cylinder. The cylinder will be attracted by the rod. If you touch the paper cylinder by the charged rod, you will see the paper cylinder repelling the rod. Can you say the reason?

Answer: When the cylinder is touched by the rod, some negative charges are transferred to the paper. Hence, the negative charges in the rod are repelled by the negative charges in the cylinder.

When the ebonite rod is rubbed with woollen cloth, electrons from the woollen cloth are transferred to the ebonite rod. Now ebonite rod will be negatively charged. When it is brought near the paper cylinder, negative charges in the rod are attracted by the positive charges in the cylinder. When the cylinder is touched by the rod, some negative charges are transferred to the paper. Hence, the negative charges in the rod are repelled by the negative charges in the cylinder.

 Thus, we can say that charges can be transferred to an object by bringing it in contact with a charged body. This method of transferring charges from one body to other body is called transfer by conduction.

The materials which allow electric charges to pass through them easily are called conductors of electricity. For example,metals like aluminium, copper are good conductors of electricity. Materials which do not allow electric charges to pass through them easily are called insulators. Rubber, wood and plastic are insulators.

3. Transfer by Induction

We saw that we can charge an uncharged object when we touch it by a charged object. But, it is also possible to obtain charges in a body without any contact with other charged body. The process of charging an uncharged body by bringing a charged body near to it but without touching it is called induction. The uncharged body acquires an opposite charge at the near end and similar charge at the farther end.

Activity 3

Bring a negatively charged plastic rod near a neutral rod. When the negatively charged plastic rod is brought close to the neutral rod, the free electrons move away due to repulsion and start piling up at the farther end. The near end becomes positively charged due to deficit of electrons. When the neutural rod is grounded, the negative charges flow to the ground. The positive charges at the near end remain held due to attractive forces and the electrons inside the metal becomes zero. When the rod is removed from the ground, the positive charges continue to be held at the near end. This makes the neutral rod a positively charged rod.

Similarly, when a positively charged rod is brought near an uncharged rod, negatively charged electrons are attracted towards it. As a result there is excess of electrons at nearer end and deficiency of electrons at the farther end. The nearer end of the uncharged rod becomes negatively charged and far end is positively charged.