Test

• It can strike without warning, at any moment. You may be walking across a soft carpet and reaching for the door knob when suddenly...zap!
• Matter


  All matter is made up of atoms that consist of three types of smaller particles: negatively charged electrons, positively charged protons, and neutral neutrons
• Normally, the electrons and protons in an atom balance out, which is why most matter you come across is electrically neutral
• Charge imbalance or net charge separation


  1. Electrons leave their atoms and attach to others, migrating between different surfaces

  2. First object is left with more protons than electrons and becomes positively charged

  3. The one with more electrons accumulates a negative charge
• Static discharge


  Mobile electrons jump off the negatively charged object, or jump onto the positively charged one in an attempt to restore the neutral charge equilibrium
• Conductors


  • Tend to have loosely bound outer electrons, which can easily flow between molecules
• Insulators


  • Have tightly bound electrons that won't readily jump to other atoms
• Static build-up


  1. Electrons from your body rub off onto the insulating rug, while the rug's insulating wool will resist losing its own electrons

  2. Charge polarization between your body and the rug
• When you reach to touch the door knob

  The metal door knob's loosely bound electrons hop to your hand to replace the electrons your body has lost
• In the great outdoors, static electricity can be a terrifying, destructive force of nature
• Charge separation in clouds

  1. May have to do with the circulation of water droplets and ice particles within them

  2. Charge imbalance is neutralized by being released towards another body, such as a building, the Earth, or another cloud in a giant spark that we know as lightning
• Lightning can strike the same place more than once