Lessons on Electrostatics
| Name | Description | Type |
|---|---|---|
Intro to Electrostatics |
A nice introduction to the study static electricity. | Animation & Explanation (HTML5) |
| Charging an Object Using Friction |
This lesson examines some common situations of charging an object rubbing it against a different object. | Animations & Explanation |
| Insulators & Conductors |
This lesson addresses the differences between insulators and conductors. | Animations & Explanation |
| Electrostatics Lab Activities |
This lesson illustrates what is actually happening in common electrostatics lab experiences. It is recommended that you use this lesson either during or after going through the electrostatics lab. | Lesson & Animations |
| Losing Charge |
This lesson illustrates how water vapor and other particles in the air can steal charge from a charged object. | Animation & Explanation |
| Electrostatic Force - Coulomb's Law |
This introduces the concept of electrostatic force and how to calculate it. It also addresses the concept of quantity of charge. | Explanation |
| Electric Field Strength |
This lesson introduces the concept of an electric field and the calculation of field strength or field intensity. | Animation & Explanation |
| Electrostatic Field Mapping |
This demonstrates the idea behind mapping an electric field. The field is created between two fixed particles. |
Animation & Explanation |
| Electrostatic Field Mapping Applet NEW |
This applet lets you move two charges around and see the resulting electric field diagram and field lines. | Interactive Java Applet |
| Electrostatic Field Mapping Applet #2 NEW |
This applet lets you place various charges, and automatically draws both electric field lines and equipotential lines. | Interactive Java Applet |
| Electrostatic Force and Fields | This is a great dialogue and interactive segments to teach the concept of an electrostatic force and electric fields. CAUTION: This site demonstrates a field using a negative test charge. Remind yourself continually that an electric field is defined in terms of a positive test charge. |
Interactive Dialogue (Java) |
| Electrical Energy and Electrical Potential |
This lesson focuses on the concept of electrical potential, or potential difference, or voltage, or electromotive force. This is perhaps the most difficult concept in electricity only because we have so many words to describe the same thing. | Lesson & Animations |
| Equipotential Lines |
This lesson illustrates the concept of equipotential lines and electrical potential difference. | Lesson & Animations |
| Charged Parallel Plates |
This lesson demonstrates several properties of oppositely charged parallel plates. | Lesson & Animations |
| The Millikan Oil Drop Experiment |
An online version of the classic experiment used by Robert Millikan to determine the charge on the electron. | Simulation (HTML5) |
| Van de Graaff Generator |
This lessons describes how a Van de Graaff generator is able to create huge electrostatic charges. | Animation & Explanation |
| The Proton Gun Lab | This interactive lab allows you to place charges near the path of a proton being fired out of a proton gun. Created by Raman Pfaff. | Interactive Lab (Shockwave) |
| Moving Charge in an Electric Field NEW |
This interactive lab allows you to adjust initial velocity, electric field strength, charge and mass and track the effects on the charge's motion. | Interactive Lab (Java Applet) |
| Forces on Multiple Charges |
This demonstrates what the forces of attraction or repulsion look like between three spherical charges. | Movie & Explanation |
| Lightning |
The electrostatic process of lightning is addressed here. | Animation & Explanation |
| Electricity Review |
A collection of multiple choice questions providing immediate feedback. | Multiple Choice Practice |
