There are two types of electric charges:
(i) Positive charges
(ii) Negative charges.
To show that there are two types of electric charges, let’s do some experiments. Take two empty plastic bottles and rub them with wool. This makes them both negatively charged. Now, bring both the bottles close to each other. You will observe that both the bottles will repel each other because both the bottles carry same charge. On the other hand, if you rub a comb with your hair and bring it close to tiny pieces of paper, then pieces of paper stick to it. This happens because the comb carries negative charge while pieces of paper carry positive charges.
So, from these experiments we conclude that two bodies having opposite charges attract each other because they have force of attraction between them. While, two bodies having similar charges repel each other, so there is a force of repulsion between them. The magnitude of force between two charged bodies is given by Coulomb’s law.
Test Your Understanding and Answer These Questions:
- Explain electric charge in detail.