| Insulator #1: Place anywhere on the Lab Bench. You can place between one and three insulators of this type. In the insulator's Properties Box, you can change the charge on the left side or the right side. You can also show or not show the Model View and the Microscopic View. When rubbed against other insulators, this insulator develops a static negative charge. When you select the insulator, a hotspot in the form of a black dot appears on its base (see figure below). If you click on this hotspot, the hotspot jumps from one side of the insulator to the other. This indicates that the insulator has rotated 180º. The side with the hotspot always carries the left-side charge.
You can charge the insulator by rubbing it against an insulator of a different type. Move the two insulator next to one another. Rub one insulator against the other one using an up-and-down motion (see figure to the right). In the Electrophorus simulator, you must rub insulators using a left-and-right motion. The insulator sides rubbing against each other charge to 90% capacity after five complete up-and-down motions. |