- #1
joej24
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Homework Statement
I have some hypothetical questions.
Question 1
There is a conductor with a single electron and proton inside of it. If we try to charge the conductor by induction, we might put a proton close to the conductor. The electron will go towards that proton while the proton in the conductor will be repulsed away. What if the electron and proton inside the conductor bump into each other, thus causing them to become attracted to one another? Does this attracting force and the repulsing force on the proton inside the conductor cause the electron to move away or does the electron inside the conductor still move towards the proton outside of the conductor?
Question 2
Since the Earth is sort of an ultimated source of electrons, when people stand on the earth, do they lose electrons, gain electrons, stay neutral (perhaps from gaining and losing electrons simultaneously), or do the charges in the feet of people just rearrange themselves? The Earth grounds and gains electrons, so does that make it an insulator?
Question 3
Why do positive and negative charges inside a conductor spread themselves uniformly across the conductor?
Homework Equations
Alike charged electrons move away from one other while different charged electrons attract one another.
The Attempt at a Solution
Question 1
I think that the electron/proton pair inside the conductor will stay where it is since the force repelling the electron inside the conductor will cancel the force of the proton pulling the electron towards it. But I also know that electrons move however the heck they want.
Question 2
I think that the charges rearrange themselves because of polarization. That would mean the Earth is an insulator then
Question 3
Is that just the way nature works? I think that the intermolecular electronic forces somehow cancel themselves out