Static Electricity

What’s the electricity static?

A stationary
electrical charge that
is built up on the
surface of a material
Electric Charge

All matter is made up of atoms

Atoms contain:
1. Protons (+)
2. Neutrons (0)
3. Electrons (-)
 Law of Electric Charges

• The law of electric charges states that like

charges repel, and opposite charges attract.

• Protons are positively charged and electrons

are negatively charged, so they are
attracted to each other.

• Without this attraction, electrons would not

be held in atoms.
Law of Electric Charges
Electric Force

The force between the

charged objects is an
electric force.

The size of the electric force depends on 2 things:

1. The amount of charge (the greater the charge, the greater
the force)
2. The distance between charges (the further the distance,
the less the force)
Electric Field

• An electric field is the region around a charged object

where electric forces can be exerted on another
charged object.
(Repelled or attracted)
Charged Objects

• Atoms do not have a charge because the number of

electrons and protons cancel each other out.
Ex.
3 protons (+) & 3 electrons (-) = 0
Charged Objects

How do objects get charged?

• They either gain or lose electrons.
• Why not protons?
Ex.
3 protons (+) & 5 electrons (-) =

7 protons (+) & 2 electrons (-) =

Coulomb’s Law

• Coulomb force is a force that occurs because of the

interaction of two or more charge. A similar charge
will refuse and a different type of charge will pull.
The Coulomb style was first defined by the French
physicist Charles Coulomb in 1785. The legal sound
of Colomb is "The magnitude of the tensile force or
the repulsive force between two electric charges is
proportional to its charges and inversely proportional
to the square of the distance between the two
cargoes."
Coulomb’s Law

• The Law of Coulomb is stated as follows:

𝑞1 𝑥 𝑞2
F=k
𝑟2

Explanation:
F = Coulomb Force (N)
q = Charge (C)
r = distance (m)
k = konstanta (N𝑚2 /𝐶 2
Example
Two charge qA and qB are each +40 μC and +40 μC. Both are separated as far as 40 mm in
the air. The magnitude and direction of the electric force of both charges are

Answer:

Known : qA=qB = 40 µC = 4 x 10-5 C

r = 40 mm = 4 x 10-2 m
Ask : F = ...?
Conclusion
𝑞𝐴 𝑥 𝑞𝐵
F=k
𝑟2

−5 −5
9 2 2 4 𝑥 10 𝐶 𝑥 4 𝑥 10 𝐶
F = 9𝑥10 𝑁𝑚 /𝐶
(4 𝑥 10−2 𝑚)2

−10 𝐶 2
9 2 2 16 𝑥 10
F = 9𝑥10 𝑁𝑚 /𝐶 16 𝑥 10−4 𝑚2
F = 9𝑥103 𝑁
 How Can You Charge Objects?
• There are 3 ways objects can be charged:
1. Friction
2. Conduction
3. Induction

**In each of these, only the electrons move. The protons stay in the
nucleus**
Friction

• Charging by friction occurs when electrons are “wiped”

from one object onto another.

Ex.
If you use a cloth to rub a plastic ruler, electrons move from
the cloth to the ruler.
The ruler gains electrons and the cloth loses electrons.
Conduction

• Charging by conduction happens when electrons move from

one object to another through direct contact (touching).
Ex. Suppose you touch an uncharged piece of metal with a
positively charged glass rod. Electrons from the metal will
move to the glass rod. The metal loses electrons and
becomes positively charged.
 Induction
• Charging by induction happens when charges in an
uncharged object are rearranged without direct contact
with a charged object.

Ex.

If you charge up a balloon through friction and place the

balloon near pieces of paper, the charges of the paper will be
rearranged and the paper will be attracted to the balloon.
Conservation of Charge
• When you charge something by any method, no
charges are created or destroyed.
• The numbers of electrons and protons stay the same.
Electrons simply move from one atom to another,
which makes areas that have different charges.
Conductors and
Insulators

• An electrical conductor is a material in which charges

can move easily.

• Most metals are good conductors because some of

their electrons are free to move.

• Conductors are used to make wires. For example, a

lamp cord has metal wire and metal prongs.

• Copper, aluminum, and mercury are good conductors.

Conductors and
Insulators

• An electrical insulator is a material in which charges

cannot move easily.

• Insulators do not conduct charges very well because

their electrons cannot flow freely. The electrons are
tightly held in the atoms of the insulator.

• The insulating material in a lamp cord stops charges

from leaving the wire and protects you from electric
shock.

• Plastic, rubber, glass, wood, and air are good insulators.

Static Electricity

• Static electricity is the

electric charge at rest
on an object.

• When something is
static, it is not moving.
• The charges of static
electricity do not move
away from the object
that they are in. So, the
object keeps its charge.

• Ex. Clothes taken out

of a dryer
Electric Discharge
• The loss of static electricity as charges move off an
object is called electric discharge.

Sometimes,
electric
Sometimes, discharge
electric happens
discharge quickly.
happens
slowly. Ex. wearing
rubber-soled
Ex: static on shoes on
clothes carpet,
lightning
How Lightning Forms
Lightning
• Lightning usually strikes the highest point in a
charged area because that point provides the
shortest path for the charges to reach the ground.

• Anything that sticks up or out in an area can

provide a path for lightning.

• A lightning rod is a pointed rod connected to the

ground by a wire.

• Objects, such as a lightning rod, that are joined to Earth

by a conductor, such as a wire, are “grounded.” Any
object that is grounded provides a path for electric
charges to move to Earth.

• Because Earth is so large, it can give up or absorb charges

without being damaged.

• When lightning strikes a lightning rod, the electric

charges are carried safely to Earth through the rod’s wire.
By directing the charge to Earth, the rods prevent
lightning from damaging buildings.