To improve students' understanding and knowledge of static electricity. This revision unit covers static electricity. It looks at charging by friction and the interactions between electric charges. The unit also explains common electrostatic phenomena in terms of the separation of charges.
Electric current is defined in terms of the flow of charges.
At Higher level the quantitative link between charge, time and current is used. Negative charges, carried by electrons, move when objects are rubbed together. Charges can flow through conductors, but not insulators. Main Lesson Electric charges We are all familiar with the everyday effects of static electricity. The small electric shock as you get out of the car, the dust on the mirror and the party trick of rubbing a balloon on your jumper and sticking it to the wall, are all due to electrostatic charges and the forces that they exert on each other.