Let's get pithy ... A pith ball is a very small and light sphere that is an insulator. How could you deter-mine whether a pith ball that is suspendedfrom an insulating thread is neutral, is charged positively, or is charged negatively

use a test charge (q = 0 and + q)

- if the ball does not move it means that it has no charge, that is, in Neutral

- That the ball is attracted, therefore has a negative charge

. - That the ball is repelled, therefore the charge is positive

Explanation:

To determine if the ball is charge we can use Newton's second law,

F = ma

Where the force would be electric

F = q E

The procedure would be. We use a test charge, another insulating ball; initially without charge and we approach it to the suspended ball, if the ball does not move it means that it has no charge, that is, in Neutral, in case of moving we perform a second step.

We charge the test ball with a positive charge, in general the test charges are considered to have a positive charge. We approach the suspended ball can pass two

- That the ball is attracted, therefore has a negative charge

. - That the ball is repelled, therefore the charge is positive