The Pros And Cons Of The Electroscope

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I. The leaves of the electroscope open up when a positively or negatively charged rod is brought near its tip because of polarization. Polarization is not a permanent charge; we are not charging the electroscope. When we approach the electroscope with a negatively charged rod, the electrons in the electroscope rush down to the leaves. This is due to the fact that like charges repel. Now that both of the leaves are negatively charged, they will repel and therefore open up. When we approach the electroscope with a positively charged rod, the electrons are attracted to the rod and rush to the tip rather than the leaves of the electroscope. Protons are located in the nucleus, and therefore cannot move around. So, the leaves have a positive charge. The electroscope can be charged by conduction, also known as contact. Through the process of conduction, a rod is charged and touches the tip of the electroscope. The rod can be rubbed around the tip of the electroscope. The rod is then removed, and we touch the tip with one of our fingers to observe the behavior of the leaves. When a charged rod touches a neutral electroscope, the electroscope would have the same charge as the rod. Electrons are shared between the rod and the electroscope. In a neutral electroscope, there is an equal amount of electrons and protons. When the electroscope comes in contact with a negatively charged rod, the electroscope will gain electrons, gaining a net negative charge. When the electroscope comes in contact with a positively-charged rod, the electroscope loses electrons, gaining a net positive charge. The electroscope can be charged by induction as well. We charged the electroscope by induction by charging a rod and bringing it near the tip of the electroscope, touching the tip with one of our fingers while holding the charged rod next to the tip, and removing the rod. Since the rod does not touch the electroscope, polarization occurs. Our bodies can give and take electrons according to what the system needs. As we approach the electroscope with a positively charged rod, the system polarizes. The electrons rush to the tip of the electroscope, so that the top is negatively charged and the bottom is positively charged. The electrons are held in place by the charging rod, and our bodies give electrons to neutralize the leaves. When we remove the rod, we are left with a negative charge even though the rod was initially positively charged, because the rod and the charged electroscope are of opposite charges in induction. Compared to the charge on the charging body, the charge on an electroscope in the case of conduction is the same as the charge of the charging body. Compared to the charge on the charging body, the charge on an

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