To charge or not to charge, that is the question!

The Earth is a good conductor of electricity, and it is so big that it can be considered an infinite source or sink of charges. It can easily exchange charges with any matter.
Generally, conductors like metals do not allow any excess charge to be present on them. Any excess charge added to metals easily flows away, for example, when a metal is placed on the Earth. This process is called earthing.
However, conductors can be charged by a process called induction. For example, consider charging a...

Electric charge is the most fundamental quantity in an electric circuit. The effects of electric charge are encountered daily, such as when a wool sweater sticks to the human body or when a person receives a shock while walking on a carpet.
Charge is an inherent property of the atomic particles that make up matter and is measured in units called coulombs (C). Matter is composed of atoms, each consisting of electrons, protons, and neutrons. Electrons have a negative charge (-e), while protons...

An interesting property of a conductor in static equilibrium is that extra charges on the conductor end up on its outer surface, regardless of where they originate. Consider a hollow metallic conductor with a uniform surface charge density. Since the conductor itself is in electrostatic equilibrium, there should not be any electric field inside the conductor. Now, assume a Gaussian surface enclosing the hollow portion. Applying Gauss's law, the inner surface of the hollow conductor will not...

All objects we see around us consist of atoms, which combine to form molecules. The lightest element in the universe is hydrogen, and a hydrogen atom consists of a positively charged proton and a negatively charged electron. The magnitude of charge that a proton and an electron carry are the same, and it is the fundamental unit of charge. In SI units, it is 1.602 times 10-19 coulomb.
Most atoms additionally constitute another fundamental particle, the neutron. It carries no electrical charge. A...

Imagine a bucket of water. It contains many molecules, of the order of 1026 molecules. Thus, although it contains discrete elements (molecules) at the microscopic level, macroscopically, it can be considered continuous. Small volume elements of water, infinitesimal compared to the bulk of the bucket's volume, still contain many molecules. Under this framework, quantized matter is approximated as continuous for practical purposes.
The electric charge can also be subjected to an analogical...

From lightning during thunderstorms to electronic devices, the phenomenon of electromagnetism is all around us. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It has been known to humanity in various forms for thousands of years. For example, the ancient Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus recorded his experiments on static electricity using amber and fur in the sixth century BC.
The English physicist William Gilbert studied the phenomenon of static electricity in...