Electric charge is a fundamental conserved property of some subatomic particles, which determines their electromagnetic interactions. Electrically charged matter is influenced by, and produces, electromagnetic fields. The interaction between charge and field is the source of one of the four fundamental forces, the electromagnetic force. CPT-symmetry is a fundamental symmetry of physical laws under transformations that involve the inversions of charge, parity and time simultaneously. ... In the standard model of particle physics the Cabibbo Kobayashi Maskawa matrix (CKM matrix, sometimes earlier called KM matrix) is a unitary matrix which contains information on the strength of flavour changing weak decays. ... CP-symmetry is a symmetry obtained by a combination of the C-symmetry and the P-symmetry. ... A phenomenon is said to be chiral if it is not identical to its mirror image (see Chirality (mathematics)). The fundamental laws of physics may be chiral, as the weak charge is not invariant under a reflection unless particles are replaced by their antiparticles as well, and kaon decay appears... Helium atom (not to scale) Showing two protons (red), two neutrons (green) and a probability cloud (gray) of two electrons (yellow). ... Electromagnetic interaction is a fundamental force of nature and is felt by charged leptons and quarks. ... In the physics of electromagnetism, the electromagnetic field is a field composed of two related vectorial fields —the electric field and the magnetic field When referred to as the electromagnetic field, encompassing all of space, whereas typically such a field is limited to a local area, based around an object... A fundamental interaction is a mechanism by which particles interact with each other, and which cannot be explained by another more fundamental interaction. ... Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field: a field, encompassing all of space, composed of the electric field and the magnetic field. ...

Electric charge is a quantum number. Electrons have a charge, by convention, of −1. Protons have the opposite charge of +1. Quarks have a fractional charge of −1/3 or +2/3. The antiparticle equivalents of these have the opposite charge. There are other charged particles. A quantum number is any one of a set of numbers used to specify the full quantum state of any system in quantum mechanics. ... Properties The electron is a subatomic particle. ... Properties In physics, the proton (Greek proton = first) is a subatomic particle with an electric charge of one positive fundamental unit (1. ... Quarks are one of the two basic constituents of matter in the Standard Model of particle physics. ... Corresponding to each kind of particle, there is an associated antiparticle with the same mass and spin but with many other quantum numbers flipped in sign. ... ...

Q is a measurement of the charge held by an object. The SI unit of electric charge is the coulomb, which represents approximately 6.24 x 10¹⁸ elementary charges (the charge on a single electron or proton). The coulomb is defined as the quantity of charge that has passed through the cross-section of a conductor carrying one ampere within one second. (see Ampere) The International System of Units (abbreviated SI from the French phrase, Système International dUnités) is the most widely used system of units. ... The coulomb, symbol C, is the SI unit of electric charge, and is defined in terms of the ampere: 1 coulomb is the amount of electric charge (quantity of electricity) carried by a current of 1 ampere flowing for 1 second. ... The elementary charge (symbol e or sometimes q) is the electric charge carried by a single proton, or equivalently, the negative of the electric charge carried by a single electron. ... The coulomb, symbol C, is the SI unit of electric charge, and is defined in terms of the ampere: 1 coulomb is the amount of electric charge (quantity of electricity) carried by a current of 1 ampere flowing for 1 second. ... It has been suggested that Conductor (power engineering) be merged into this article or section. ... Amp re can refer to: Amp re (car) Ampere (unit) Andr -Marie Amp re This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Amp re can refer to: Amp re (car) Ampere (unit) Andr -Marie Amp re This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Electric charge can be directly measured with an electrometer. The discrete nature of electric charge was demonstrated by Robert Millikan in his oil-drop experiment. An electrometer also known as an electroscope measures electric charge. ... Robert Millikan. ... The purpose of Robert Millikans oil-drop experiment (1909) was to measure the electric charge of the electron. ...

Formally, a measure of charge should be a multiple of the elementary charge e (charge is quantized), but since it is an average, macroscopic quantity, many orders of magnitude larger than a single elementary charge, it can effectively take on any real value. The elementary charge (symbol e or sometimes q) is the electric charge carried by a single proton, or equivalently, the negative of the electric charge carried by a single electron. ... Generally, quantization is the state of being constrained to a set of discrete values, rather than varying continuously. ... Macroscopic means measurable and observable by the naked eye; describes existence as we perceive it. ... In mathematics, the real numbers are intuitively defined as numbers that are in one-to-one correspondence with the points on an infinite line—the number line. ...

History

As reported by the Ancient Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus around 600 BC, charge (or electricity) could be accumulated by rubbing fur on various substances, such as amber. The Greeks noted that the charged amber buttons could attract light objects such as hair. They also noted that if they rubbed the amber for long enough, they could even get a spark to jump. This property derives from the triboelectric effect. The word electricity derives from ηλεκτρον, the Greek word for amber. For the French electronics and defence contractor, see Thales Group Thales (in Greek: Θαλης) of Miletus (circa 635 BC - 543 BC), also known as Thales the Milesian, was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC 610s BC - 600s BC - 590s BC 580s BC 570s BC 560s BC 550s BC Events and Trends Fall of the Assyrian Empire and Rise of Babylon 609 BC _ King Josiah... The term fur refers to the body hair of non-human mammals also known as the pelage (like the term plumage in birds). ... This is about the material called amber. ... A female with brown hair. ... This is about the material called amber. ... The triboelectric effect is an electrical phenomenon where certain materials become electrically charged after coming into contact with another, different, material. ...

C. F. Du Fay proposed in 1733 [1] that electricity came in two varieties which cancelled each other, and expressed this in terms of a two-fluid theory. When glass was rubbed with silk, DuFay said that the glass was charged with vitreous electricity, and when amber was rubbed with fur, the amber was said to be charged with resinous electricity. Charles François de Cisternay du Fay (Paris, 1698 - 1739) was a French scientist and superintendent of the Jardin du Roi. ... Events February 12 - British colonist James Oglethorpe founds Savannah, Georgia. ...

By the 18th century, the study of electricity had become popular. One of the foremost experts was Benjamin Franklin, who argued in favor of a one-fluid theory of electricity. Franklin imagined electricity as being a type of invisible fluid present in all matter; for example he believed that it was the glass in a Leyden jar that held the accumulated charge. He posited that rubbing insulating surfaces together caused this fluid to change location, and that a flow of this fluid constitutes an electric current. He also posited that when matter contained too little of the fluid it was "negatively" charged, and when it had an excess it was "positively" charged. Arbitrarily (or for a reason that was not recorded) he identified the term "positive" with vitreous electricity and "negative" with resinous electricity. William Watson arrived at the same explanation at about the same time. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... Benjamin Franklin by Jean-Baptiste Greuze 1777 For the former mayor of Nepean, see Ben Franklin (politician) Dr. Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790) was an American printer, journalist, publisher, author, philanthropist, abolitionist, public servant, scientist, librarian, diplomat,Atheist and inventor. ... The materials definition of a glass is a uniform amorphous solid material, usually produced when a suitably viscous molten material cools very rapidly, thereby not giving enough time for a regular crystal lattice to form. ... Original capacitor The Leyden jar was the original capacitor, developed in the 18th century and used to conduct many early experiments in electricity. ... William Watson (3 April 1715 - 10 May 1787) was an English physician and scientist who was born and died in London. ...

We now know that the Franklin/Watson model was close, but too simple. Matter is actually composed of several kinds of electrically charged particles, most common are the positively charged proton and the negatively charged electron. Rather than one possible electric current there are many: a flow of electrons, a flow of electron "holes" which act like positive particles, or in electrolytic solutions, a flow of both negative and positive particles called ions moving in opposite directions. To reduce this complexity, electrical workers still use Franklin's convention and they imagine that electric current (known as conventional current) is a flow of exclusively positive particles. The conventional current simplifies electrical concepts and calculations, but it ignores the fact that within some conductors (electrolytes, semiconductors, and plasma), two or more species of electric charges flow in opposite directions. The flow direction for conventional current is also backwards compared to the actual electron drift taking place during electric currents in metals, the typical conductor of electricity, which is a source of confusion for beginners in electronics. Properties In physics, the proton (Greek proton = first) is a subatomic particle with an electric charge of one positive fundamental unit (1. ... Properties The electron is a subatomic particle. ... In electricity, current is the rate of flow of charges, usually through a metal wire or some other electrical conductor. ... An electrolyte is a substance which dissociates free ions when dissolved (or molten), to produce an electrically conductive medium. ... Dissolving table salt in water In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture of one or more substances (the solutes) dissolved in another substance (the solvent). ... An ion is an elementary particle or system of elementary particles with a net electric charge. ... In electricity, current is the rate of flow of charges, usually through a metal wire or some other electrical conductor. ...

Properties

Aside from the properties described in articles about electromagnetism, it is worth noting that charge is a relativistic invariant. What this means is that any particle that has charge q, no matter how fast it goes, always has charge q. This property has been experimentally verified by showing that the charge of one helium nucleus (two protons and two neutrons bound together in a nucleus and moving around at incredible speeds) is the same as two deuterium nuclei (one proton and one neutron bound together, but moving much more slowly than they would if they were in a helium nucleus). Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field: a field, encompassing all of space, composed of the electric field and the magnetic field. ... Albert Einsteins theory of relativity is a set of two scientific theories in physics: special relativity and general relativity. ... Invariant may have meanings invariant (computer science), such as a combination of variables not altered in a loop invariant (mathematics), something unaltered by a transformation invariant (music) invariant (physics) conserved by system symmetry This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the... General Name, Symbol, Number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 4. ... The nucleus (atomic nucleus) is the center of an atom. ... Properties In physics, the proton (Greek proton = first) is a subatomic particle with an electric charge of one positive fundamental unit (1. ... Properties In physics, the neutron is a subatomic particle with no net electric charge and a mass of 939. ... Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is a stable isotope of hydrogen with a natural abundance of one atom in 6500 of hydrogen. ...

See also

• Electrical discharge
• Charge decay
• SI electromagnetism units

An electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a sudden flow of electric current through a material that is normally an insulator. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

External links

• How fast does a charge decay?