Changes

==Polarity==

==Polarity==

All materials that are known contain two basic components of electric charge: the [[proton]] and the [[electron]]. The proton is a basic particle with positive polarity, and the electron is the smallest amount of electric charge having negative polarity.  

All materials that are known contain two basic components of electric charge: the [[proton]] and the [[electron]]. The proton is a particle with a single positive charge, and the electron has a single negative charge.  

It is an arrangement of electrons and protons as basic particles of electricity that determines the electrical characteristics of substances. Although all matter has protons and electrons, most materials do not exhibit any evidence of electricity, because the number of protons and electrons are equal. The opposite electrical forces cancel each other out, and render materials like paper electrically neutral. In order to use electricity to do work, the protons and electrons must be separated. A battery can do electrical work because a chemical process separates electric charges to create an excess of electrons at its negative terminal and conversely, an excess of protons at its positive terminal. With separate and opposite charges at two terminals, electric energy can be supplied to a circuit connected to the battery.

 

It is the arrangement of electrons and protons as basic particles of electricity that determines the electrical characteristics of substances. Although all matter has protons and electrons, most materials do not exhibit any evidence of electrical activity, because the protons and electrons arranged in balanced ways. In order to use electricity to do work, the material must contain electrons that are free to move from atom to atom. A battery can do electrical work because a chemical process takes place when it is part of a completed circuit moves electrons towards its negative terminal and conversely, creates a lack of them at its positive terminal. Electrons then flow through the circuit to keep balancing out this chemical process. 

 

Some molecules are said to be "polarized" because their atomic arrangement and electron sharing causes a net charge to develop on opposite sides.  Water is a classic example of this, with the electrons from the [[hydrogen]] atoms "spending more time" in proximity to the [[oxygen]] atoms.  Since the hydrogen atoms are "attached" to the oxygen asymmetrically (instead of being at opposite sides of the oxygen, the angle between their "attachment points" is 108 degrees), one end of the water molecule carries a positive charge and the other a negative one.  This polarization results in water's ability to dissolve [[salt]]s, and display acidic or basic characteristics.

==The Structure of an Atom Determines its Electrical Characteristics==

==The Structure of an Atom Determines its Electrical Characteristics==