Static Electricity

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Static Electricity


What is Static Electricity? It is a stationary electric charge, typically produced by friction, which causes sparks or crackling or the attraction of dust or hair.


Benjamin Franklin’s Kite Experiment Benjamin Franklin(1706-1790), an American scientist, contributed discoveries and theories on electricity. His famous kite experiment showed lightning as an electrical phenomenon. A key was then attached near the bottom, to conduct the electricity and create a charge. The kite was struck by lightning and, when Franklin moved his hand towards the key, a spark jumped across and he felt a shock, proving that lightning was electrical in nature. He was the first to label positive and negative charges.


Electric Charge Electric charge is the physical property of matter that causes it to experience a force when placed in an electromagnetic field. There are two types of electric charges: positive and negative (commonly carried by protons and electrons respectively). Like charges repel and unlike attract.


Electric Force and Electric Field The attractive or repulsive interaction between any two charged objects is an electric force. Like any force, its effect upon objects is described by Newton's laws of motion. A region around a charged particle or object within which a force would be exerted on other charged particles or objects is an electric field.


Coulomb's Law Coulomb's law states that: The magnitude of the electrostatic force of attraction between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.


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