Question

What is electrical induction? Explain with examples.

Answer 1

Electric or electrostatic induction is a method to create or generate static electricity in a material by bringing an electrically charged object near it. This causes the electrical charges to be redistributed in the material, resulting in one side having an excess of either positive (+) or negative (−) charges.

When a charged object is brought near an uncharged, electrically conducting object, such as a piece of metal, the force of the nearby charge due to Coulomb's law causes a separation of these internal charges. For example, if a positive charge is brought near the object, the electrons in the metal will be attracted toward it and move to the side of the object facing it. When the electrons move out of an area, they leave an unbalanced positive charge due to the nuclei. This results in a region of negative charge on the object nearest to the external charge, and a region of positive charge on the part away from it. These are called induced charges. If the external charge is negative, the polarity of the charged regions will be reversed.