Mission SE4 Charging by Contact and the Grounding Process
A physics student, standing on the ground, touches an uncharged plastic baseball bat to a negatively charged electroscope. This will cause ____.
Definition of Grounding:
Grounding is the process of removing the excess charge on an object by the transfer of electrons between it and another object of substantial size (known as the ground). When a charged object is grounded, a balance of charge is established by the movement of electrons between the charged object and the ground. The process involves providing a connecting pathway between the charged object and the ground.
Grounding is the process of removing the excess charge on an object by the transfer of electrons between it and another object of substantial size (known as the ground). When a charged object is grounded, a balance of charge is established by the movement of electrons between the charged object and the ground. The process involves providing a connecting pathway between the charged object and the ground.
Grounding works because electrons can move between the charged object and the ground. It is important that a conducting pathway be established between the two objects in order for electrons to move. This most often happens in laboratory activities when a person touches the charged object. People are good grounds because of their substantial size and because they are relatively conductive. If a plastic baseball bat is touched to the charged object, the object would not lose its charge. Plastic is an insulating material and would not provide the conductive pathway between the ground and the object.
