Static Electricity

Question 1

what is static electricity all about

Answer 1

charges that are not free to move

Question 2

what leads to a spark regarding static electrictiy

Answer 2

as the charge isnt free to move, it causes it to build up in one place which leads to a spark when the electrons move

Question 3

what happens when insulating materials are rubbed together

Answer 3

negatively charged electrons will be scraped off one and dumped on the other, depending on the ease of removal of electrons

Question 4

why are the electrons transferred to the cloth when rubbed on an acetate rod but it gives up its electrons when rubbed on a polythene rod

Answer 4

the thickness of the rod and the ease at which they give up electrons

Question 5

what is the charge of the insulators dependent on

Answer 5

the movement of electrons

Question 6

what is static charge

Answer 6

the transfer of electrons and charge through friction

Question 7

what happens to the potential difference of an object as the charge builds up on an object

Answer 7

the potential difference between the earth and the object increases from 0

Question 8

what happens when the potential difference on an object gets large enough

Answer 8

electrons can jump across the gap between the charged object and the earth

Question 9

what is the spark, in terms of potential difference

Answer 9

electrons jumping across the gap between the object and the earth

Question 10

why do humans get static shocks

Answer 10

because we can act as earthed conductors which can have the charge travel through us to the earth

Question 11

what is lightning

Answer 11

static electricity on a large scale (a big spark on crack)

Question 12

what is electrostatic repulsion

Answer 12

two things with the same charge moving away from each other due to their non contact forces alone

Question 13

what is electrostatic attraction

Answer 13

two things with the opposite charge moving towards each other due to their non contact forces alone

Question 14

what is static electricity on an atomic scale

Answer 14

stripping electrons form an atom and having it attracted to into another atom, making one positively charged and the other negatively charged

Question 15

what is the effect of lightning striking

Answer 15

it causes the charges between the insulators it is connected to to neutralise, as the electrons have been transferred to the positively charged insulator

Question 16

if a thunder storm falls above a tower, why does the top of the tower become charged, and of what charge

Answer 16

the bottom of the clouds are negatively charged while the top is positively charged, do the electrons at the bottom repel the electrons at the top of the tower causing the top to be positively charged