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What is static electricity?

The short answer

Static electricity is electric charge that builds up on the surface of something instead of flowing along a wire. Rubbing two things together, like a balloon on your hair or socks on a carpet, moves tiny bits of charge from one to the other. The charge stays put until it finds a way out, which is the little zap you sometimes feel.

Chloe and Leo, in the living room

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The longer answer

Everything is made of tiny particles, and some carry electric charge. Usually the charges are balanced, so nothing happens. Rubbing can move some charge from one material to another, leaving one with extra charge and the other with less.

Things with opposite charges pull toward each other, which is why a rubbed balloon sticks to a wall or makes your hair reach for it. Things with matching charges push apart, which is why rubbed hairs spread out from each other.

The word static means staying still. This charge sits on the surface until it can jump to something else, like a metal door handle, making a tiny spark.

Three things to know

  • Lightning is static electricity, only gigantic. Ice and water rub together inside storm clouds and build charge until it jumps all at once as a giant spark.
  • That little zap off a door handle is the same spark. Walking on carpet builds charge all over you, and it leaps the last small gap when you reach for metal.
  • A charged balloon can bend a trickle of water. Hold a rubbed balloon beside a thin stream from a faucet and the water leans toward it without being touched.

Try it at home: Two static tricks

  1. Tear tissue paper into tiny bits and spread them on a table.
  2. Rub a balloon on your hair or a wool sweater.
  3. Hold the balloon just above the paper and watch the bits jump up.
  4. Rub it again and hold it near a thin stream of water from a faucet, without touching it.

Static works best on dry days. Keep pieces of a burst balloon away from little ones.

Other questions people ask

What causes static electricity?

Rubbing two materials together, like a balloon and hair, moves electric charge from one to the other. The extra charge builds up on the surface instead of flowing away.

Why does static electricity shock you?

Charge builds up on your body as you walk or rub against things. When you touch metal, it jumps across all at once, and that sudden jump is the little sting you feel.

Quick quiz

Watch the episode first, then tap an answer.

  1. Chloe held the balloon over Leo's paper bits. What did the paper bits do?

  2. Leo said it builds up when you rub. How do you make static electricity?

  3. You cannot see it, but it made Chloe's hair stand up. What is it called?

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