electric Induction

Induction, electric name of the phenomenon whereby an electrically charged object charges another object without touching it. As distinct from electromagnetic induction, which is the force produced on an electrically charged particle by a changing magnetic field, electric induction is caused by the attraction that opposite electrical charges have for each other (electrostatic attraction). In electric induction if a body is positively charged electrons in the uncharged body will be attracted to it; if the opposite end of the body is then grounded, electrons will flow into it to replace those drawn to the other end. Therefore, the body acquires a negative charge after the ground connection is broken. The Van de Graaff generator, used in nuclear physics experiments, utilizes electric induction.

See also: Van de Graaff generator.