Is the Potential of a Negatively Charged Conductor Always Negative?

In summary, electrostatics is the branch of physics that deals with the study of electric charges at rest. The two types of electric charges are positive and negative, caused by an excess of protons and electrons, respectively. An electric field is a region where electric force can act on charged particles, created by the presence of electric charges. Coulomb's Law states that the force between two electric charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The unit of electric charge is the Coulomb (C), equivalent to the charge of approximately 6.24 x 10^18 electrons and named after French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb.
  • #1
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I was doing some T/F exercises and there was this one that had me confused:

The potential of a negatively charged conductor must be negative

Because it's conductor, i figured all of the conductor would be negatively charged and so it would have a negative potential, but apparently this statement is false. What am i missing?
Thanks
 
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  • #3
Ahhh I get it now :P tricky setence tho, thanks!
 

FAQ: Is the Potential of a Negatively Charged Conductor Always Negative?

What is electrostatics?

Electrostatics is the branch of physics that deals with the study of electric charges at rest.

What are the two types of electric charges?

The two types of electric charges are positive and negative. Positive charges are caused by an excess of protons, while negative charges are caused by an excess of electrons.

What is an electric field?

An electric field is a region in which an electric force can act on charged particles. It is created by the presence of electric charges and can be visualized as lines of force.

What is Coulomb's Law?

Coulomb's Law states that the force between two electric charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

What is the unit of electric charge?

The unit of electric charge is the Coulomb (C), named after the French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb. It is equivalent to the charge of approximately 6.24 x 10^18 electrons.

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