What is static electricity?

Answer 1

Static electricity is electricity produced locally that does not flow. It is produced by electrons being rubbed off one object and collecting on another. It cannot flow through a wire like the electricity in your home.

Example:
1) Rub a balloon on your hair and it will stick to the wall. The balloon rubs electrons off your hair and picks up a negative charge. Your hair, in turn, is left with a positive charge. You may even notice your hair has "static" and is standing out from your head.
2) Comb your hair with a plastic comb then use it to pick up small pieces of paper. The comb picks up electrons from your hair and becomes negatively charged. It uses this charge to attract the pieces of paper.
3) Rub your slippered feet on the carpet and then touch something metal like a door knob. The "shock" you feel is static electricity. You pick up electrons from the carpet and discharge them on to the door knob.

Answer 2

static charges

A charged object will also attract something that is neutral. Think about how you can make a balloon stick to the wall. If you charge a balloon by rubbing it on your hair, it picks up extra electrons and has a negative charge. Holding it near a neutral object will make the charges in that object move. If it is a conductor, many electrons move easily to the other side, as far from the balloon as possible. If it is an insulator, the electrons in the atoms and molecules can only move very slightly to one side, away from the balloon. In either case, there are more positive charges closer to the negative balloon. Opposites attract. The balloon sticks. (At least until the electrons on the balloon slowly leak off.) It works the same way for neutral and positively charged objects.

So what does all this have to do with static shocks? Or static electricity in hair? When you take off your wool hat, it rubs against your hair. Electrons move from your hair to the hat. A static charge builds up and now each of the hairs has the same positive charge. Remember, things with the same charge repel each other. So the hairs try to get as far from each other as possible. The farthest they can get is by standing up and away from the others. And that is how static electricity causes a bad hair day!

static hair
As you walk across a carpet, electrons move from the rug to you. Now you have extra electrons and a negative static charge. Touch a door knob and ZAP! The door knob is a conductor. The electrons jump from you to the knob, and you feel the static shock.

We usually only notice static electricity in the winter when the air is very dry. During the summer, the air is more humid. The water in the air helps electrons move off you more quickly, so you can not build up as big a static charge.
Everything we see is made up of tiny little parts called atoms. The atoms are made of even smaller parts. These are called protons, electrons and neutrons. They are very different from each other in many ways. One way they are different is their "charge." Protons have a positive (+) charge. Electrons have a negative (-) charge. Neutrons have no charge.

Usually, atoms have the same number of electrons and protons. Then the atom has no charge, it is "neutral." But if you rub things together, electrons can move from one atom to another. Some atoms get extra electrons. They have a negative charge. Other atoms lose electrons. They have a positive charge. When charges are separated like this, it is called static electricity.

If two things have different charges, they attract, or pull towards each other. If two things have the same charge, they repel, or push away from each other.

Answer 3

Try frequent brushing with a sleeker brush. This will distribute the dogs natural body oils throughout the coat. Also using some Eucalyptus oil in a spray bottle consisting of one cup of water for every 10 drops of oil will help get rid of the static electricity. It will also keep fleas away and help them smell good. Do not use fabric softener sheets though. There are very few on the market that claim to be safe but are not proven.

Answer 4

Static electricity is the accumulation of electrons or the void of electrons. The void of electrons would leave a quantity of protons without their balancing electron. So that somewhere in the universe these electrons and protons are trying to get back together again. But are separated by some sense of insulation

Answer 5

Static electricity is net electric charge on the surface of a dielectric. Tribocharging is a common way to do that.

Answer 6

it is the build up of protons and nuetrons coming from something that we have been in contact with that would be a positive and a negativa at the same time so we actually can hold a charge such as a battery

Answer 7

think potential energy.
that is energy stored. the energy (electrical) is not in motion, not doing any work, therefore, static.
it is a difference in potential between any two, or more, objects.
when the stored energy's potential is greater than the dielectric's, say air for example, insulation value--- zap.