Key Stage 3
Meaning
Static Electricity is an imbalance of charges that causes a force which can attract or repel other objects.
About Static Electricity
- Static Electricity can be caused by rubbing two insulators together. For certain materials electrons can be transferred from one material to the other by friction.
- A material that gains electrons becomes negatively charged.
- A material which loses electrons becomes positively charged.
- Once a material has become statically charged it will repel anything with the same charge and attract anything with the opposite charge. This happens due to the Electrostatic Force.
- Lightning is caused by a build up of static electricity in which clouds gain electrons from the ground. The charge builds up until the Electrostatic Force is so large that the electrons are able to jump to the ground as a bolt of lightning.