What’s a Negative Charge?

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Negative charges are an essential property of particles, such as electrons, and are part of the fundamental forces of physical law. They create an electromagnetic field that can attract or repel other particles, and are responsible for chemical bonding. Negative charges were first identified by the ancient Greeks and were established during the Big Bang. Michael Faraday identified different polarities in 1839.

A negative charge is an electrical property of a particle on a subatomic scale. Physically, it maintains the reverse reaction to positively charged particles, creating an electromagnetic field that demonstrates some level of strength, keeping both particles in a united, reactive state. The most prevalent example is found within electrons, which maintain an electromagnetic field with positively charged protons. Both of these elements are essential for maintaining the integrity of atoms. As such, negative charges are part of the fundamental forces of physical law.

When two negative charges meet, a force known as repulsion is exerted, causing both particles to move away from each other. Inversely, negative and positive charges attract each other, which is known as Coulomb’s law. These two main properties of charges form the general basis of the laws of electrodynamics. Some particles, such as photons, can have a different effect on negative charges, however, causing different reactions. This change in the laws of electrodynamics is the basis for quantum theory, the study of anomalies within the principles of physics.

Electrons are widespread in the universe and contain no substructures. Smaller than protons, their mass is only 1/1836 of their positively charged counterparts. They are essential for the activity of magnetism, electricity and thermal conductivity causes. Electrons are also responsible for the chemical bonding between elements. This occurs when an electron is shared by an atom or exchanged through chemical process.

Many scientists believe that the negative charge found within electrons was established during the Big Bang. The electrons were created in the massive explosion and took their place among other fermions, or physical forms of particles. At the time, the positron, the antiparticle of the electron, was also being created. Unlike electrons, however, a positron’s charge is not negative. This means that when collisions occur between the two particles, both are annihilated, creating gamma-ray photons in their place.

Negative charges were first identified by the ancient Greeks. In about 600 BC, Thales of Miletus rubbed fur on amber, creating attractive forces. A number of scientists worked over the centuries to identify different forms of electromagnetic interaction, eventually establishing a system that defined different material-based reasons for attraction and repulsion. In 1839, Michael Faraday identified the existence of different polarities. He defined one of these polarities as the maintenance of a negative charge, although the distinction between positive and negative charges was purely arbitrary.




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