Chapter 22 - Electrostatics

Electrostatics is the study of electric charges at rest and the forces between them. Electrical forces act over short distances and opposite charges attract while like charges repel based on Coulomb's law. Materials are classified as conductors or insulators based on how tightly bound their electrons are. Objects can be charged through contact/friction or induction and develop a non-uniform distribution of charge known as polarization. An electric field is created by a charged object and defined as the region in which a test charge would experience force, with field lines indicating direction. Electric potential energy is the energy a charge has based on its position in an electric field. Capacitors can store electric energy by separating opposite charges on conducting plates.