electric charge of a body is quantised

Question 4:

(a)   Explain the meaning of the statement ‘electric charge of a body is quantised’.

(b)   Why can one ignore quantisation of electric charge when dealing with macroscopic i.e., large scale charges?

Solution:

(a)   The meaning of the statement ‘electric charge of a body is quantised’ is that only integral number of electrons can be transferred from one body to the other which is 1,2,3, …….. . In other word we can say that fractional number of electron can not transfer from one body to another body. Hence, the electrical charge contain by any body will be multiple of integrals ( hence electric charge of a body is quantised.)

(b) In macroscopic or large scale charges, the charges used are huge as compared to the magnitude of electric charge. Hence, quantization of electric charge is of no use on macroscopic scale. Therefore, it is ignored and it is considered that electric charge is continuous.