GCSE Physics Coursework

GCSE physics coursework is a scientific piece of academic writing. Many of students are not fascinated with GCSE physics coursework writing assignments. What is the secret of successful physics coursework writing? Read the following GCSE physics coursework sample on atomic nature of electric charge to learn more about coursework writing.

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GCSE Physics Coursework Sample

The systematic extension of electrodynamics to the entire physical order was rendered possible by the discovery of the atomic constitution of electric charges. We have previously seen that a material body may be conceived of as built up of atoms, so that the mass of the body is the sum of the masses of the atoms. Similarly, the macroscopic electric charge of a body is the sum of elementary charges.

The first clue to the atomic nature of electric charge was given by the laws of electrolysis which were discovered by Faraday. Suppose, for example, that two platinum plates are partially immersed in a solution of hydrochloric acid (electrolyte) and the plates (electrodes) are inserted in a circuit containing a source of current. A current will flow in the circuit and decompose the hydrochloric acid; chlorine will be released at the plate (anode) at which the current enters the solution, hydrogen will be released at the plate (cathode) at which the current leaves the solution. This process is called electrolysis and is characterized by two laws which were discovered by Faraday. The first law is that: The mass of the substance liberated at an electrode is proportional to the quantity of electricity which passes through the electrolyte. The second law is that The mass of any substance liberated for a given quantity of electricity is proportional to the chemical equivalent of the substance.

Helmholtz in 1881 drew the conclusion that the facts of electrolysis implied an atomic constitution of electricity. Thus he said, "If we accept the hypothesis that the elementary substances are composed of atoms, we cannot avoid concluding that electricity is also divided into elementary portions which behave like atoms of electricity." Our conception of the process of solution is that molecules are dissociated into electrically charged constituents, called ions. During electrolysis the positively charged ions move toward the negative electrode (cathode), and the negatively charged ions move toward the positive electrode (anode). Further evidence in favor of the atomic conception of electricity was obtained from the study, during the second half of the nineteenth century, of the discharge of electricity through gases. In these experiments one employs a vacuum tube--a glass tube containing gas which can be removed by means of a pump, and having sealed into it electrodes between which there is a difference of potential arising from some electrical machine.