User's Manual

ES-9080A 012-07227G Basic Electrostatics System

voltage source. Take care to place the capacitor sufficiently far away from the sphere and the

voltage source, to prevent it from being charged by induction.

2. Press the ZERO button to remove any residual charge from the electrometer and the

plates of the capacitor.

3. Set the plate separation to about 2 mm. Use a proof plane to transfer charge from the

charged sphere to the capacitor plates. The charge is transferred merely by touching the

proof plane to the sphere and then to one capacitor plate. If you always touch the sphere

and the capacitor plate at the same place, equal amounts of charge will be transferred each

time.

Question: Why is it sufficient to touch only one plate of the capacitor?

4. Observe how the potential difference reading from the electrometer varies as more charge

is put in the capacitor.

Figure 3.2: Demonstration Setup

Electrometer

Electrostatics

Voltage

Source

To AC power

adapter