Which of these materials is an electrical insulator?
An electrostatic precipitator is installed in a power station chimney to remove ash particles from waste gases.
The diagram below shows a simplified model of the precipitator.
The control unit applies a high voltage between Plate X and Plate Y, causing Plate X to become negatively charged and Plate Y to become positively charged.
Use the idea of charge movement to explain how Plate X becomes negatively charged and Plate Y becomes positively charged.
Suggest why neutral ash particles are attracted to the negatively charged Plate X.
An industrial lab technician charges an acrylic rod by rubbing it with a dry microfibre cloth. When they hold the charged rod close to a thin vertical jet of polar liquid (such as ethanol) issuing from a nozzle, the jet of liquid is deflected towards the rod.
Suggest why the jet of polar liquid is deflected.
