A negatively charged glass rod attracts a hanging object. The nature of the hanging object is:

The correct answer is may be positively charged or may be neutral.

Key Points

• A negatively charged object will attract an object that is either positively charged or neutral due to electrostatic forces.
• When a charged rod is brought near a neutral object, it can induce a separation of charges within the neutral object, leading to attraction.
• If the hanging object is positively charged, it will naturally be attracted to the negatively charged rod due to opposite charges attracting.
• Neutral objects are attracted to charged objects because the induced charges within the neutral object create a net attractive force.

Additional Information

• Electrostatic Force
  • It is the force of attraction or repulsion between two charged objects.
  • Like charges repel each other, whereas opposite charges attract each other.
• Induced Charge
  • When a charged object is brought near a neutral object, it can cause a redistribution of charges within the neutral object.
  • This phenomenon is known as electrostatic induction.
• Conductors vs. Insulators
  • Conductors allow the free movement of electrons and can easily become charged.
  • Insulators do not allow free movement of electrons and hold their charges tightly.
• Coulomb's Law
  • This law quantifies the amount of force between two stationary, electrically charged particles.
  • The force is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.