What Is Electric Charge

We know that an atom consists of electron, protons, and neutrons. Each electron has a negative charge and each proton has a positive charge. a neutron carries no charge and is therefore neutral. In an atom, the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons and the atom is electrically neutral. electrons may be added to or taken away from an atom. this disturbs the electrical balance of the atom. If an atom loses an electron it is left with an overall positive charge, since it has a proton in excess of those needed to balance the effect of its electrons. such a charged atom is called a positive ion. If an electron is added to an atom, it attains a negative charge. Such a charged atom is called a negative ion. A body having a number of ionized atoms is said to be electrically charged.