Is attraction a true test of electrification?

Explanation

To determine whether attraction is a true test of electrification, we can analyze the interaction between charged and neutral bodies. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the reasoning:

### Step 1: Understanding Electrification
Electrification refers to the process of gaining or losing electric charge. A body can be positively charged, negatively charged, or neutral.

**Hint:** Remember that a positively charged body has an excess of protons, while a negatively charged body has an excess of electrons.

### Step 2: Interaction with a Charged Body
Consider a positively charged body placed near a neutral conducting body. The positive charge will exert an attractive force on the electrons present in the neutral conductor.

**Hint:** Think about how charges interact; opposite charges attract while like charges repel.

### Step 3: Polarization of the Neutral Body
When the positively charged body is brought close to the neutral conductor, the electrons in the conductor are attracted towards the positive charge. This causes a separation of charges within the conductor, leading to polarization.

**Hint:** Polarization occurs when charges within a neutral object rearrange themselves due to the influence of an external electric field.

### Step 4: Resulting Forces
In this scenario, the attractive force between the positively charged body and the induced negative charge in the conductor is stronger than the repulsive force between the positive charge and the positive charges in the conductor. Thus, the net force is attractive.

**Hint:** Consider the distribution of charges and how they affect the net force experienced by the bodies.

### Step 5: Conclusion on Attraction as a Test of Electrification
Since a neutral conducting body can be attracted to a charged body, this indicates that attraction does not necessarily confirm that the body itself is charged. Therefore, attraction is not a definitive test for electrification.

**Hint:** Reflect on the fact that both charged and neutral bodies can experience attractive forces under certain conditions.

### Final Answer
Attraction is not a true test of electrification, as even neutral bodies can be attracted to charged bodies due to polarization.