Electric Charges: Conservation of Charge

A charge is a property associated with and related to matter. It experiences different electrical and magnetic effects. The SI unit of an electric charge is called Coulomb. Electric charges in the conservation of charge were first defined by Coulomb. 

Conservation of energy is a concept that defines charge as constant, with no exchange; hence, it is a conserved item. 

Conservation of Charge

According to the rule of conservation of charge, the total electrical charge in an isolated system always remains constant. This means that there are an equal amount of positive and negative charges. Hence the total charge of the universe is conserved and remains constant.

The net charge of the total charge of a body depends on the number of electrons and protons. The electrons are negatively charged particles, and protons are positively charged particles. For a body to be neutral, the electrons and the protons are exactly the same in number. Therefore the conservation of charge is always maintained. 

Explanation of the Conservation of Charge

To understand the conservation of charge in a microstructure, one must understand the composition of different bodies.

• The first is the fact of the neutral charge. To remain constant and for the energy to be conserved, there needs to be a balance in the whole system. In a body, the number of protons or the positive charge should be equal to the electron of the negative charge. Hence, these two charges balance each other
• When we talk of electrical charge transfer, electrons are the major participants. At a normal state of the ideal state, the entire charge of the system is evenly distributed. Regarding the concentration of negative charge in some bodies, the transfer of electrons occurs from the bodies with higher polarity to lower polarity

Defining Electric Charge

An electrical charge is a physical property that experiences a specific force when placed in an electromagnetic or electric field. Charges could be positive or negative.

Electric charges along with electric field

Electric charges are a particular physical body responsible for the formation of special electric fields. Interaction with different forces, such as electromagnetic forces, can create unique attraction and repulsion. Electromagnetic force could be traced by the electric field lines, which depend on other bodies.

Electric Charge Definition

Defining electric charge as an entity could be very difficult. These charges are fundamental properties, and they can represent magnetic forces and movement. Electrostatic attraction and repulsion are some of the matters of charge. The electrons are given as negative charges by the normal convention, and the proton is given a positive charge. 

Coulomb’s Law

According to Coulomb’s law, the electrostatic force between two different objects is dependent on the charge of the bodies. There are also few charged bodies in any substance known as neutrons. These bodies are, moreover, neutral and help in generating electrostatic force. 

Example of Conservation of Charge

According to the Conservation of Charge, one understands that the net charge produced by a body will always be zero. This means that a body cannot produce its own charge, and hence it is always responsible for gain in charge or a loss in charge, which makes it positive or negative. 

Some examples:

• Induction – The charge produced due to induction is not something that a body produces anew. Rather, it is the exchange of charge from one body to another so as to induce a specific amount of charge

When a mass of a body is rubbed with another body to produce electrostatic force, electrons flow from the high polarity body to the lower polarity one. Here, conservation of charge comes into the picture as there is no net charge production, but there is a flow of charge from a higher polarity body to a lower polarity one.

• Radioactive decay – during such a process, there is the decay of different constituents of the atom. For example, if you see the decay of a proton, then one can observe it splitting into a positron and a Neutron. The splitting up of charges is basically the conservation of energy in a specific way

In a radioactive process, the splitting of charges takes place in equal amounts so as to give the body a resting phase. They help in the creation of equal amounts of charges without any total net charge on a system.

Properties of electric charge

Electric charges vary depending on their nature and attraction and repulsion in different fields. Some of the basic properties and characteristics of electric charges are:

• A charge is a scalar quantity – The direction of the flow of charge is not well defined. Any quantity that does not have a fixed direction could be said to be a scalar quantity
• Electric charge is easily transferable – Electric charge could be transferred from one body to another body with a special procedure. During such transfer of charge, the conservation of charge is always maintained
• Two like charges repel each other, and two unlike charges attract each other – One of the greatest properties of electrical charge is a factor of repulsion and attraction. When two like charges are exposed to each other, they will repel the body itself by the electromagnetic force, and when two, unlike charges, are placed close to each other, they have the tendency to attract
• An electric charge always has a certain mass for a body – Without the mass of a body, an electric charge cannot exist

Addition of the charge and its concept

A charge is an additive property, and could be added. If two different bodies have different masses and different electrical charges when combined, the total net charge could be added easily.

Even when the charge is added according to the mass of the body, the total or the net amount of the charge in a system is always conserved according to conservation law.