charge

charge

charge, property of matter that gives rise to all electrical phenomena (see electricity). The basic unit of charge, usually denoted by e, is that on the proton or the electron; that on the proton is designated as positive (+e) and that on the electron is designated as negative (−e). All other charged elementary particles have charges equal to +e, −e, or some whole number times one of these, with the exception of the quark, whose charge could be 1-3e or 2-3e. Every charged particle is surrounded by an electric field of force such that it attracts any charge of opposite sign brought near it and repels any charge of like sign, the magnitude of this force being described by Coulomb's law (see electrostatics). This force is much stronger than the gravitational force between two particles and is responsible for holding protons and electrons together in atoms and for chemical bonding. When equal numbers of protons and electrons are present, the atom is electrically neutral, and more generally, any physical system containing equal numbers of positive and negative charges is neutral. Charge is a conserved quantity; the net electric charge in a closed physical system is constant (see conservation laws). Whenever charges are created, as in the decay of a neutron into a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino, equal amounts of positive and negative charge must be created. Although charge is conserved, it can be transferred from one body to another. Electric current, on which much of modern technology is dependent, is a flow of charge through a conductor (see conduction). Although current is usually treated as a continuous quantity, it actually consists of the transfer of millions of individual charges from atom to atom, typically by the transfer of electrons. A precise description of the behavior of electric charge in crystals and in systems of atomic and molecular dimensions requires the use of the quantum theory.

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charge

A property of certain elementary particles that causes them to attract or repel each other. Charged particles have associated electric and magnetic fields that allow them to interact with each other and with external electric and magnetic fields. Charge is conventionally ‘negative’ or ‘positive’: like charges repel, unlike charges attract. The electron possesses the natural unit of negative charge, equal to 1.6022 × 10^–19 coulombs. The proton carries a positive charge of the same magnitude. If matter is charged, it is due to an excess or deficit of electrons with respect to protons.

Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Charge

 

a French term used in some languages (in Russian, sharzh) to describe a satirical or humorous likeness, usually of a person, that renders the model’s outer appearance while emphasizing essential traits of character. The charge, a special type of caricature, is broader than the English term “cartoon,” as it may be executed in various media, including scultpure.

Outstanding masters of the charge have included L. Bernini, H. Daumier, and the Russian artists B. M. Kustodiev, V. A. Serov, and N. A. Stepanov. The genre has been developed in the USSR by V. N. Deni, B. E. Efimov, 1.1. Igin, Kukryniksy, D. S. Moor, and F. P. Reshetnikov. Methods of the charge have often been applied to literature, mainly in lampoons, feuilletons, and epigrams.

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Charge

 

a mixture of materials in specific proportion, subjected to treatment in metallurgical, chemical, and other plants. The charge is designed for the manufacture of products with specified physical and chemical properties. Metallurgical charges may contain ores, ore concentrates, agglomerates, recycled slag, dust from a collection device, metals (mainly as scrap), fluxes, and sometimes fuel, for example, in the smelting of pig iron and ferrous alloys in blast furnaces. The charge is loaded into the processing unit in the form of a homogeneous mixture (as a powder, in lumps, or as briquettes) prepared outside the unit or as separate, proportioned quantities of the individual components. The charge materials are usually stored in stockyards.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

charge

[chärj]

(electricity)

A basic property of elementary particles of matter; the charge of an object may be a positive or negative number or zero; only integral multiples of the proton charge occur, and the charge of a body is the algebraic sum of the charges of its constituents; the value of the charge may be inferred from the Coulomb force between charged objects. Also known as electric charge, quantity of electricity.

To convert electrical energy to chemical energy in a secondary battery.

To feed electrical energy to a capacitor or other device that can store it.

(engineering)

A unit of an explosive, either by itself or contained in a bomb, projectile, mine, or the like, or used as the propellant for a bullet or projectile.

To load a borehole with an explosive.

The material or part to be heated by induction or dielectric heating.

The measurement or weight of material, either liquid, preformed, or powder, used to load a mold at one time during one cycle in the manufacture of plastics or metal.

(mechanical engineering)

In refrigeration, the quantity of refrigerant contained in a system.

To introduce the refrigerant into a refrigeration system.

(metallurgy)

Material introduced into a furnace for melting.

(nucleonics)

The fissionable material or fuel placed in a reactor to produce a chain reaction.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

charge

The quantity of refrigerant in a refrigeration system.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

charge

1. a price charged for some article or service; cost

2. an accusation or allegation, such as a formal accusation of a crime in law

3. Physics

a. the attribute of matter by which it responds to electromagnetic forces responsible for all electrical phenomena, existing in two forms to which the signs negative and positive are arbitrarily assigned

b. a similar property of a body or system determined by the extent to which it contains an excess or deficiency of electrons

c. a quantity of electricity determined by the product of an electric current and the time for which it flows, measured in coulombs

d. the total amount of electricity stored in a capacitor

e. the total amount of electricity held in an accumulator, usually measured in ampere-hours.

4. Law the address made by a judge to the jury at the conclusion of the evidence

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005