Written by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 examโขWritten by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Definition
Charge refers to one of the fundamental properties of matter that determines how objects interact with electromagnetic fields. A negative charge (-e) indicates an excess or deficit of electrons compared to protons within an object.
Related terms
Electric Field: An electric field is a region around charged particles or objects where electric forces are exerted on other charged particles.
Coulomb's Law describes the force between two charged objects and states that the force is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.