Static Electricity Flashcards
What is static all about?
Charges that are not free to move
Where are charges often not free to move?
In insulators
Wheh charges are not free to move, what does this cause?
(2)
The charges to build up in one place and often end up with a spark or shock when they finally do move.
What causes the build up of static?
The friction between certain insulating materials
What happens when certain insulating materials are rubbed together?
Negatively charged electrons are scraped off one material and moved onto another
If electrons are moved from one material onto another, what will this do to the insulators?
Leave the one that has lost electrons with a positive charge, and that one that has gained electrons with a negative charge
Which way the electrons are transferred depends on what?
The two materials involved
What do electrically charged objects do to small objects placed near them?
They attract them
When a polythene rod is rubbed with a cloth duster, which way do the electrons move?
From the duster onto the polythene rod
When an acetate rod is rubbed with a duster cloth, which way do the electrons move?
From the acetate rod onto the duster
Static electricity is caused by ____ being ____
Static electricity is caused by electrons being transferred
How does static electricity relate to your hair?
Static builds up in your hair, so that the strands repel each other
Both ____ and ____ charges are only ever produced by the movement of ____
Both positive and negative charges are only ever produced by the movement of electrons
Positive charges…
…definitely DO NOT MOVE
What is a positive static charge always caused by?
Electrons moving away elsewhere
The material that loses the electrons loses some ____ ____, and is left with an ____ ____ ____.
The material that loses the electrons loses some negative charge, and is left with an equal positive charge.
When two electrically charged objects are brought close, what happens?
They exert a force on one another
Two things with opposite charges will…
…attract each other
Two things with the same electric charge will…
…repel each other
As the two charged objects become further apart, the forces between them get ___
Weaker
Electrical charges can move easily through which kind of materials?
Conductors
Name a material known to be a good conductor
Metals
Remember, opposites…
OPPOSITES ATTRACT
