Electrophoric

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing the property of a substance that causes it to attract light particles or electric charges when exposed to certain conditions; relating to the phenomenon where materials gain an electric charge due to contact or friction; pertaining to the characteristic of being capable of producing or attracting electricity by physical interaction
2. Referring to substances that have the ability to become electrically charged through friction or contact; indicating materials that show an attraction to electrical charges or light; connected to the capacity of generating electricity under specific physical influences
3. Characterizing materials exhibiting attraction to electric charges upon friction or contact; denoting the tendency to acquire electrical charge when rubbed against another object; associated with properties involving the generation or attraction of electric charge through physical means

Etymology: Michael Faraday coined the root of this word in 1832, when he needed a name for the charge that appeared on objects after friction. He built it from Greek "elektron," meaning amber, since amber rubbed with cloth was the classic early demonstration of static electricity, and "elektron" itself gave English "electricity" in the 1600s, when William Gilbert studied the same effect. Faraday's "electrophoric" came from "electro-" plus "phoros," meaning "bearing" or "carrying," as in "phosphorus," the light-bearer. The adjective was not Faraday's own usage in the sense you see here. He used "electrophorus" as a noun for a device, a disk of resin that held a charge and could repeatedly transfer it to other objects. The adjective "electrophoric" followed later, describing things that behave like that device, and it still appears in older physics and chemistry writing.

Synonyms: electrostatic, electrically charged

Antonyms: nonconductive, insulating