The science behind static electricity
Explanation of static electricity and its manifestations in everyday life.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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News •
Sound-levitated particles reveal how static charge builds up
• Oct. 28, 2026, 8:00 AM ET (Phys.org)
Transcript
NARRATOR: Electricity has become an essential part of modern life. But it isn't just generated by flicking a switch. In fact, electric charge can be observed in the natural world, such as in lightning, and it can be found in unexpected places around your house. If you've ever shuffled across a thick carpet and then touched a doorknob, only to receive a shock, you're seeing one form of electricity at work. This is static electricity.
Atoms--which make up all matter--contain two kinds of electric charge. Every atom has at least one proton, which carries a positive charge, and at least one electron, which carries a negative charge. An atom with more protons than electrons is positively charged, while an atom with more electrons is negatively charged. When an atom has an equal number of protons and electrons, the charges cancel each other and the atom is said to be neutral.
When two neutral objects come into contact--especially in a dry environment--electrons can be knocked loose from one object and picked up by the other. The object that gains electrons becomes negatively charged, while the object that loses electrons becomes positively charged. Objects with like charges repel each other, while those with opposite charges attract each other. This phenomenon--in which objects acquire an electric charge and exert a force on one another--is what we call static electricity.
Static electricity explains why some articles of clothing cling together when pulled out of a dryer. Rubbed together in a dry environment, some items have lost electrons and become positively charged, while others have gained electrons and become negatively charged. Two pieces of clothing with opposite charges will attract each other--and when you pull them apart, sparks will fly and crackle. But if you throw in a positively charged dryer sheet, the free electrons will jump to the sheet, and the clothes will lose their attraction for each other. No static cling, and no sparks--just electrically neutral clothes.
Objects may keep their static charge for a while. If you've become charged and then move close to a conductive object like a doorknob, electrons will jump from you to the metal. This shock is the rapid movement of electric charge. You've lost your extra electrons, and there goes your static electricity!
Atoms--which make up all matter--contain two kinds of electric charge. Every atom has at least one proton, which carries a positive charge, and at least one electron, which carries a negative charge. An atom with more protons than electrons is positively charged, while an atom with more electrons is negatively charged. When an atom has an equal number of protons and electrons, the charges cancel each other and the atom is said to be neutral.
When two neutral objects come into contact--especially in a dry environment--electrons can be knocked loose from one object and picked up by the other. The object that gains electrons becomes negatively charged, while the object that loses electrons becomes positively charged. Objects with like charges repel each other, while those with opposite charges attract each other. This phenomenon--in which objects acquire an electric charge and exert a force on one another--is what we call static electricity.
Static electricity explains why some articles of clothing cling together when pulled out of a dryer. Rubbed together in a dry environment, some items have lost electrons and become positively charged, while others have gained electrons and become negatively charged. Two pieces of clothing with opposite charges will attract each other--and when you pull them apart, sparks will fly and crackle. But if you throw in a positively charged dryer sheet, the free electrons will jump to the sheet, and the clothes will lose their attraction for each other. No static cling, and no sparks--just electrically neutral clothes.
Objects may keep their static charge for a while. If you've become charged and then move close to a conductive object like a doorknob, electrons will jump from you to the metal. This shock is the rapid movement of electric charge. You've lost your extra electrons, and there goes your static electricity!
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