Electrostatic Coulomb Constant
Lab: Electrostatic Coulomb Constant
Rylee Rose
Date: 1/28/13
Abstract:
This experiment was done to study electrostatic and Coulomb’s law.
Objective:
The objective was to demonstrate the veracity of Coulomb's Law. This was done by observing different equilibrium conditions of two pith balls that were equally charged. They were then constructed into a pendulum using strings. Calculations were done to determine the charge on pith balls, calculate the mass of the pith balls and to calculate the electrostatic constant.
Experimental Procedure:
Using the virtual lab website, the ball was charged to 120 by rubbing it against the cat’s fur. The charge was then transferred to the pith balls. The angle was taken using a protractor and the distance between the pith balls was measured using a ruler. This data was used to calculate how many electrons reside on each ball, and what the gravitational attraction between the two balls. Newton’s second law was applied, and coulombs force was used to calculate the charge on each one of the pith balls. The percent error was calculated for the value of the charge and the one that was given in the info box. After finding the gravitational force between the two balls the ratio between gravitational attractions and electrostatic was calculated.
The pendulum was then grounded and returned to neutral. Repeating the charging process but this time it was only charged to 100. Using only the ruler this time, the distance was measured between the pith ball and the length of the string. Using this data and trigonometric functions, the deflection angle was calculated. The coulombs force was calculated once again, and from the equilibrium conditions the mass of the pith ball was calculated. The tension force of the string was calculated.
For the last part, the pendulum was grounded again and reset to neutral. The pith balls were then charged to 80 using the same methods as part one and two. The protractor and ruler were used to
Rylee Rose
Date: 1/28/13
Abstract:
This experiment was done to study electrostatic and Coulomb’s law.
Objective:
The objective was to demonstrate the veracity of Coulomb's Law. This was done by observing different equilibrium conditions of two pith balls that were equally charged. They were then constructed into a pendulum using strings. Calculations were done to determine the charge on pith balls, calculate the mass of the pith balls and to calculate the electrostatic constant.
Experimental Procedure:
Using the virtual lab website, the ball was charged to 120 by rubbing it against the cat’s fur. The charge was then transferred to the pith balls. The angle was taken using a protractor and the distance between the pith balls was measured using a ruler. This data was used to calculate how many electrons reside on each ball, and what the gravitational attraction between the two balls. Newton’s second law was applied, and coulombs force was used to calculate the charge on each one of the pith balls. The percent error was calculated for the value of the charge and the one that was given in the info box. After finding the gravitational force between the two balls the ratio between gravitational attractions and electrostatic was calculated.
The pendulum was then grounded and returned to neutral. Repeating the charging process but this time it was only charged to 100. Using only the ruler this time, the distance was measured between the pith ball and the length of the string. Using this data and trigonometric functions, the deflection angle was calculated. The coulombs force was calculated once again, and from the equilibrium conditions the mass of the pith ball was calculated. The tension force of the string was calculated.
For the last part, the pendulum was grounded again and reset to neutral. The pith balls were then charged to 80 using the same methods as part one and two. The protractor and ruler were used to