Electricity

Force, quantity of charge, and distance of separation are related by a rule called Coulomb's law. This law states that the force between electrical charges is proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of their separation.

The coulomb force binds atoms together to form chemical compounds. It is this same force that accelerates electrons in a TV picture tube, giving energy to the beam of electrons that creates the television picture. It is the electric force that causes charge to flow through wires.

The electric force binds electrons to the nuclei of atoms. In some kinds of materials, electrons stick tightly to their respective atoms. These materials are electrical insulators that cannot carry a significant current unless acted upon by an extremely strong electrical field. Insulators are almost always nonmetals. Metals are relatively good conductors of electricity because their outermost electrons are easily removed by an electric field. Some metals are better conductors than others, silver being the best.