Re: There's work, and then there's work

[Bob LaMontagne <rlamont@POSTOFFICE.PROVIDENCE.EDU>]

David Rutherford wrote:

> How can you say that the negative charges move, but the positive charges
> don't? What makes the negative (or positive) charges special? If the
> positive charges don't move, doesn't this _experimental result_ sort of
> disprove one of the most basic laws of physics, Coulomb's Law?

What positive charges are you referring to? Electrons have migrated away from one of the plates
leaving some of the atoms deficient of electrons - effectively positive. These atoms are not mobile -
they are constrained by the structure of the material. There are no light, mobile positive carriers
available to produce a current.

Perhaps you are thinking along the lines of the positive charges in an ionized gas? I assumed we were
discussing conventional capacitors and wires. Just what positive charges on the plates are you
expecting to move?

Bob at PC