Elektrilaenguta

Elektrilaenguta is a term used to describe an object or system that has zero net electric charge. The word is formed from elektrilaeng (electric charge) and the suffix -uta, meaning without. In physics, charge is conserved and comes in discrete units; an entity is elektrilaenguta when the sum of all positive and negative charges equals zero.

Net charge, denoted Q, is measured in coulombs, with the elementary charge e ≈ 1.602×10^-19 C being the fundamental unit. A macroscopic object can be electrically neutral even if its constituents carry charges, as long as protons and electrons balance out. Neutral atoms and many molecules are elektrilaenguta because they typically contain equal numbers of protons and electrons. Ions—atoms or molecules with an excess or deficit of electrons—carry a net charge and are not elektrilaenguta.

Neutrality is common in bulk matter, but objects can become charged through various processes such as friction (triboelectric effect), direct contact, induction in an external field, or emission of electrons by light. When neutrality is disrupted, electric fields and forces emerge, influencing phenomena from static electricity to electrostatic discharge.

In scientific contexts, elektrilaenguta serves as a baseline concept for electrostatics, materials science, and chemistry, distinguishing neutral matter from charged particles and plasmas. See also electric charge, neutrality, ion, coulomb, electrostatics.