The specific charge of a particle is its charge per unit mass.The word specific usually means per unit mass (i.e. per kilogram).The specific charge of an electron is the electron's charge (-1.6 × 10-19C) divided by its mass (9.11×10-31kg).The specific charge of a helium nucleus is the charge of the helium nucleus, which is 2×1.6×10-19C, divided by the mass of two neutrons and two protons.The unit of specific charge is Ckg-1
Specific Charge
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Specification: AQA Physics (7407), AS-level, 3.2.1.1 Constituents of the atom. Topic: Particles and Radiation.
Key terms in this lesson
- Strong nuclear force
- The short-range attractive force between nucleons that overcomes the electrostatic repulsion between protons and holds the nucleus together, becoming repulsive at very short separations.
- Photon
- A discrete packet, or quantum, of electromagnetic energy.
- Weak nuclear force
- The fundamental interaction responsible for beta decay, in which particles interact through the exchange of W bosons.
- Meson
- A hadron made of a quark-antiquark pair, for example the pion and the kaon.
- Muon
- A negatively charged lepton, similar to but much heavier than the electron, produced for example by cosmic rays in the atmosphere.
More in Particles and Radiation
- Structure of the Atom
- Isotopes
- The Strong Nuclear Force
- Forces in the Nucleus
- Radioactive Decay
- Alpha Radiation
- Beta Radiation
- Gamma Radiation and Electromagnetic Waves
All 22 lessons in Particles and Radiation · All AQA AS-level Physics topics