In this deck, we'll explore static electricity. You've probably experienced it yourself, like when a balloon sticks to your hair or you get a small shock from a door handle. We'll learn how these effects are caused by the movement of tiny particles, the forces these particles create, and how we can represent these forces using electric fields.

To understand static electricity, we first need to remember the basic structure of an atom. Atoms contain positive protons, neutral neutrons, and negative electrons. In insulating materials, the protons and neutrons are fixed in place, but the electrons on the outside can sometimes be transferred from one material to another.

Insulating materials can become electrically charged through friction. For example, if you rub a polythene rod with a dry cloth, the friction gives electrons enough energy to move from the cloth to the rod. The rod now has more electrons than protons, so it has an overall negative charge. The cloth has lost electrons, so it has an equal amount of positive charge.