Electrostatic induction is a method by which an electrically charged object can be used to create an electrical charge in a second object, without contact between the two objects. Electric charge is a fundamental property of some subatomic particles, which determines their electromagnetic interactions. ...

The effect can be demonstrated using an electroscope, which is an instrument for detecting electric charge. The electroscope is first discharged, and a charged object is then brought close to the instrument's terminal. This causes a redistribution of the charges inside the electroscope, so that the electroscope's terminal gains a net charge of opposite polarity to that of the object. At this moment, the electroscope has not acquired a net charge: the charge within it has merely been redistributed. An electrical contact is then briefly made, e.g. by the experimenter's finger, between the electroscope terminal and ground. This causes charge to flow from ground to the terminal, attracted by the local surplus of charge at the terminal. The electroscope now contains a net charge opposite in polarity, and slightly weaker than, that of the charged object. When the electrical contact to earth is broken, e.g. by lifting the finger, the extra charge that has just flowed into the electroscope cannot escape, and the instrument retains a net charge. An electrometer measures electric charge. ... An electrometer measures electric charge. ... The word ground has several meanings: The surface of the Earth Soil, a mixture of sand and organic material present on the surface of the Earth Ground (electricity), in electrical engineering, something that is connected to the Earth or at the voltage defined as zero (in the US, called ground...

Numerous electrical generators and electrostatic generators, such as the Wimshurst machine, the Van de Graaff generator and the electrophorus, rely on this principle. An electrical generator is a device that produces electrical energy from a mechanical energy source. ... An electrostatic generator is a mechanical device that produces continuous current. ... Wimshurst machine with two Leyden jars. ... Van de Graaff generator A Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic machine which uses a moving belt to accumulate very high voltages on a hollow metal globe filled with shit. ... For the genus of fish family Electrophoridae, see electric eel An electrophorus is a single-plate capacitor used to produce imbalances of electric charge via the proces of electrostatic induction. ...