18.
2 Charged Objects and the Electric Force ■ 531
B B
net external force F that acts on the object. Newton’s second law, F mB a , specifies the
acceleration aB that arises because of the net external force. Any external electric force that
acts on an object must be included when determining the net external force to be used in
the second law.
The physics of electronic ink. A new technology based on the electric force may revolutionize
the way books and other printed matter are made. This technology, called electronic ink,
allows letters and graphics on a page to be changed instantly, much like the symbols dis-
played on a computer monitor. Figure 18.4a illustrates the essential features of electronic
ink. It consists of millions of clear microcapsules, each having the diameter of a human
hair and filled with a dark, inky liquid. Inside each microcapsule are several dozen
extremely tiny white beads that carry a slightly negative charge. The microcapsules are
sandwiched between two sheets, an opaque base layer and a transparent top layer, at which
the reader looks. When a positive charge is applied to a small region of the base layer,
as shown in part b of the drawing, the negatively charged white beads are drawn to it,
leaving dark ink at the top layer. Thus, a viewer sees only the dark liquid. When a negative
charge is applied to a region of the base layer, the negatively charged white beads are
repelled from it and are forced to the top of the microcapsules; now a viewer sees a white
area due to the beads. Thus, electronic ink is based on the principle that like charges repel
Base layer
Beads
Microcapsules
(a)
Dark liquid
Base layer
Dark pixel
Light pixel
Figure 18.4 (a) Electronic ink consists of
microcapsules filled with a dark, inky liquid
and dozens of white beads. (b) Dark and light
pixels are formed when positive and negative
charges are placed in the base layer by
(b) electronic circuitry.
