charge
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charge,
property of matter that gives rise to all electrical phenomena (see electricityelectricity,class of phenomena arising from the existence of charge. The basic unit of charge is that on the proton or electron—the proton's charge is designated as positive while the electron's is negative.
..... Click the link for more information. ). The basic unit of charge, usually denoted by e, is that on the protonproton,
elementary particle having a single positive electrical charge and constituting the nucleus of the ordinary hydrogen atom. The positive charge of the nucleus of any atom is due to its protons.
..... Click the link for more information. or the electronelectron,
elementary particle carrying a unit charge of negative electricity. Ordinary electric current is the flow of electrons through a wire conductor (see electricity). The electron is one of the basic constituents of matter.
..... Click the link for more information. ; that on the proton is designated as positive (+e) and that on the electron is designated as negative (−e). All other charged elementary particleselementary particles,
the most basic physical constituents of the universe. Basic Constituents of Matter
Molecules are built up from the atom, which is the basic unit of any chemical element. The atom in turn is made from the proton, neutron, and electron.
..... Click the link for more information. 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 fieldfield,
in physics, region throughout which a force may be exerted; examples are the gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields that surround, respectively, masses, electric charges, and magnets. The field concept was developed by M.
..... Click the link for more information. of forceforce,
commonly, a "push" or "pull," more properly defined in physics as a quantity that changes the motion, size, or shape of a body. Force is a vector quantity, having both magnitude and direction.
..... Click the link for more information. 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 lawCoulomb's law
, in physics, law stating that the electrostatic force between two charged bodies is proportional to the product of the amount of charge on the bodies divided by the square of the distance between them.
..... Click the link for more information. (see electrostaticselectrostatics,
study of phenomena associated with charged bodies at rest (see charge; electricity). A charged body has an excess of positive or negative charges, a condition usually brought about by the transfer of electrons to or from the body.
..... Click the link for more information. ). 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 lawsconservation laws,
in physics, basic laws that together determine which processes can or cannot occur in nature; each law maintains that the total value of the quantity governed by that law, e.g., mass or energy, remains unchanged during physical processes.
..... Click the link for more information. ). 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 conductionconduction,
transfer of heat or electricity through a substance, resulting from a difference in temperature between different parts of the substance, in the case of heat, or from a difference in electric potential, in the case of electricity.
..... Click the link for more information. ). 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 theoryquantum theory,
modern physical theory concerned with the emission and absorption of energy by matter and with the motion of material particles; the quantum theory and the theory of relativity together form the theoretical basis of modern physics.
..... Click the link for more information. .
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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.
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