Question

We talk of positively and negatively charged particles. But what actually is a charge, what is the property of charge caused by?

Asked by: Keni P.

 Answer

The only honest answer any physicist can give to this question is 'we don't really know'. The facts we know for electrical charges can be summarized rather easily, some particles have this property which we call a 'charge', which comes in two opposite varieties, which tend to cancel each other out; if they do, they interact through what we call the electromagnetic interaction, if not, they don't.

Even at the deepest level we know, of elementary particles, charge seems to be an integral part of the particles, quarks (which form protons and neutrons, and other heavy particles) are charged, and so are electrons, muons, and taus. There does not seem to be a 'particle' as such, which makes them charged, and there has never been observed an electron which has 'lost its charge', for example.

This is perhaps another demonstration of our fundamental ignorance of nature. The very fundamentals, we do not know how or why. We just take them as axioms, similar to Euclidean geometry and build upon them. While the existence of charge is not in question, what it is, what it is caused by, and why it exists are questions we are unable to answer.

Answered by: Yasar Safkan, Ph.D. M.I.T., Software Engineer, Istanbul, Turkey

Search

Loading



Sponsors

USC University of Southern California Dornsife College Physics and Astronomy Department McMaster University Physics and Astronomy Department

Science Quote

'Never regard study as a duty, but as the enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later work belongs.'

Albert Einstein
(1879-1955)

Deal of the Day

Image of Hover Craft Kit. Click on this image for more info. Hover Craft Kit
Regular Price: $29.99
Today's Price: $12.00
Learn the science behind hover craft technology with this cool kit! Buy it now! Deal ends at midnight!

Top Selling

Here are our physics & astronomy bestsellers:
Mini Plasma Ball
Slide Making Kit
Top Secret - Spinning Top
Wood Grain Newtons Cradle
Deluxe 3D Mirascope
Solar Radiometer
Periscope
Solar Science 4M Kit
Ultimate Chemistry Set CHEM C3000
3D Magnetic Field Tube