Static Electricity All Around Us Section 9.1

What is Static Electricity? Did you ever walk across a carpet, touch someone, and get a shock? That shock is caused by static electricity. “Static” means not moving. Static electricity is electricity that is not moving in a path. To understand what causes static electricity, you have to know about the atom. Scientists have learned that all matter is made up of tiny parts called atoms. Each atom has charges of electrical energy.

There are two kinds of charges; positive (+) charges and negative (-) charges. Every atom has both positive and negative charges. Usually, an atom has the same number of positive and negative charges; the charges are balanced and the atom is neutral!

Sometimes the positive and negative charges of an atom are not equal Sometimes the positive and negative charges of an atom are not equal. Then the atom is not neutral. The atom has a positive charge if it has more positive charges (more protons). The atom has a negative charge if it has more negative charges (more electrons). Matter that has charged atoms has static electricity.

When some kinds of matter rub together, you also get static electricity. Rubbing is also known as friction. Sometimes static electricity is called friction electricity. Static electricity is NOT the kind of electricity that we use for light bulbs, toaster, and appliances.

Electric Charge Static Electricity Electrostatics Neutral Can be positive (has an excess of electrons) or negative (has a deficiency of electrons) Static Electricity Electric charges that are stationary (at rest) Electrostatics The science of static electricity Neutral Materials that do not carry a charge

Insulators Conductors Materials that don’t allow electric charges to heat or move freely through them Conductors Materials that allow electric charges to heat or move freely through them `

Read Pages 296 to 300 Do Questions on Page 300 #1, 2, 3, 4, 6