Static electricity is what sometimes makes a nylon jumper crackle and spark in dry weather. Or you may, get a small electric shock from a metal surface after walking across a carpet made of artificial fibres. Rubbing something made of amber or plastic can cause it to pick up electrons from your clothes or hair, giving them a positive charge. If you then touch something with a slightly negative charge, a small spark may fly across just before you touch it, or, if it is light, the oppositely charged object may be attracted to you.
Static electricity can be a nuisance or even a danger. The energy that makes your hair to stand on end can also damage electronics and cause explosions. However, properly controlled and manipulated, it can also be a tremendous boon to modern life.
“Electric charge is a fundamental property of matter,” according to Michael Richmond, a physics professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Nearly all electric charge in the universe is carried by protons and electrons. Protons are said to have a charge of +1 electron unit, while electrons have a charge of ?1, although these signs are completely arbitrary. Because protons are generally confined to atomic nuclei, which are in turn imbedded inside atoms, they are not nearly as free to move as are electrons. Therefore, when we talk about electric current, we nearly always mean the flow of electrons, and when we talk about static electricity, we generally mean an imbalance between negative and positive charges in objects.
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