Introduction

You most certainly have experienced the interaction between two objects that have acquired an electric charge, whether it was the static cling between clothes or the attraction between your hair and a comb on a dry day. In this experiment, you will make the measurements that will allow you to determine a quantitative relationship between the electrostatic force and the distance between charged objects.

Objectives

In this experiment, you will

  • Make qualitative observations about the electrical interaction between various charged objects.
  • Use an examination of forces in static equilibrium to determine the magnitude of the electrical force between charged objects.
  • Use video analysis techniques to determine the relationship between the magnitude of the electrical force and the distance between two charged objects.