Describe ‘electroscope’ and explain briefly how it works.
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Solution
Electroscope:
To detect the presence of a charge, we use an electroscope.
An electroscope consists of a metal strip attached at one end of the rod and two metal strips are attached at the other end of the rod which is kept in a glass jar.
The deflection in the metallic strips can be used as a method to identify the presence and nature of the charge on the body.
Working:
An electroscope is made up of a metal detector knob on top which is connected to a pair of metallic strips leaves hanging from the bottom of the connecting rod.
When no charge is present the metals leaves hang loosely downward.
When an object with a positive charge is brought near an electroscope, electrons in the metal of the electroscope are attracted to the charge and move upward out of the leaves the leaves separates.
When an object with a negative charge is brought near an electroscope, the electrons in the metal of the electroscope repel and move toward the leaves on the bottom, the leaves again separate.
The electroscope cannot determine if the charged object is positive or negative. It only determines the charged particle.
