What is the law of conservation of electric charge

As is known from the school course of physics, in the process of electrifying bodies, the law of conservation of electric charges is fulfilled. At first glance it may seem that the knowledge of this fact is too abstract to face it in everyday life. Let's talk today about whether this is really so, and where you can find the law of conservation of electric charge.

The existing theories about the structure of the microworld affirm that the charge carrier is an electron, is one of the most stable particles. Energy can not disappear: in the whole universe, only its transformation takes place. Thus, the law of conservation of electric charge is fulfilled. Suppose that an electron under certain conditions can be divided into other particles making up its (for example, a photon and an elusive neutrino), with the corresponding total charge. However, until now, official science has denied such a possibility, since practical experiments (and they have been carried out repeatedly) have not been successful. No wonder they say that the electron is indivisible, it is inexhaustible ... The theoretical lifetime of this particle is at least 10 to the power of 22.

It is not a secret for anyone that the total charge of an atom is zero. This is because the negative potential of all electrons is compensated by the positive charge of the protons in the nucleus. The mutual neutralization is carried out, therefore the atom as a whole is electrically neutral. Of course, if he informs additional energy (for example, heat the material to high temperatures or act with an alternating magnetic field), then electrons in outer orbits (valence) can leave their "legitimate places". In this case, a substance ion and a free electron are obtained. But, as a rule, the energy acquired by the particle is emitted in the form of quanta and the stable structure of the atom is restored. A special case is the connection of elements, when some particles are common to two (or more) atoms. The conservation law is also fulfilled to the full.

However, let's return from the field of the microworld to a more practical life. The law of conservation of electric charge is actively used in electrical engineering calculations. For example, it is enough to recall the first rule of Kirchhoff. In fact, it confirms the law of conservation of electric charge. For example, in circuits of alternating three-phase current , the method of connecting conductors to a star is often used. In this case, three phase conductors are connected in a node. It would seem inevitable that a short circuit will occur with an increase in current and a burnout of the conducting material. In fact, the following happens: at each such node the sum of the currents is zero. In calculations (conventionality), the inflowing currents are considered positive, and the outgoing currents are negative. In other words: I1 + I2 + I3 = 0, or, which is also true, I2 = I1-I3 and so on. In simple terms, the incoming charge can not exceed the amount coming from the node. If, with such a connection of conductors, the law of conservation of charges did not work, then the accumulation of charged particles at the site would be recorded, but this does not happen.

Electrical engineering and atoms are far from the only areas where the law of conservation of charge operates. Biology and botany are also not forgotten. With the famous process of photosynthesis (the creation of organic substances in chlorophyll grains under the influence of sunlight) at the time of absorption of a quantum of light, the structure of the tissue leaves one electron. However, since the chlorophyll molecule acquires a positive charge in this case, the "vacant place" is soon filled with one of the free particles. In fact, it is thanks to the law of conservation of charge that the existence of the Universe in the form to which we are all accustomed is possible.