P2.1 Static and Current Electricity Flashcards
What is static electricity?
An electric charge on an insulating material.
What is an electrostatic charge caused by?
Electrons
How does an insulating material gain an electrostatic charge?
When electrons rub off a different material onto an atom.
Which charges attract and repel?
Same charges repel
Opposite charges attract
What is the name of the process when you rub a balloon to make it stick to a wall?
Induction, as the charge is an induced charge.
What is earthing?
The process when a metal is discharged by touching it with a wire connected to the earth.
What is discharging?
When you remove an electrical charge by conduction.
What is a natural phenomena that involves static currents?
Lightning.
What is a danger of everyday static electricity?
When it is likely to cause a spark.
What are some of the uses of static electricity?
Painting
Why can filling a fuel tank be dangerous?
The static electricity that has been built up could discharge and cause a spark, which could ignite the fuel.
What is earthing?
Earthing is when a static charge is safely removed from a material by conducting it into the ground with a copper wire.
What is Charge?
Current * Time
What is a definition of current?
The rate of flow of a charge.
Do cells and batteries supply d.c or a.c and what does this mean?
They supply d.c which means that the charge moves in one direction only.
