Static electricity

<p>Static electricity is an imbalance of <a href="/facts/Electric_charges/xxsBfmlB">electric charges</a> within or on the surface of a material. The charge remains until it can move away by an <a href="/facts/Electric_current/Dc1xdnUX">electric current</a> or <a href="/facts/Electrical_discharge/06wCdIrV">electrical discharge</a>. The word "static" is used to differentiate it from <a href="/facts/Electric_current/Dc1xdnUX">current electricity</a>, where an electric charge flows through an <a href="/facts/Electrical_conductor/BSuyupLP">electrical conductor</a>.
</p><p>A static electric charge can be created whenever two surfaces contact and/or slide against each other and then separate. The effects of static electricity are familiar to most people because they can feel, hear, and even see sparks if the excess charge is neutralized when brought close to an <a href="/facts/Electrical_conductor/BSuyupLP">electrical conductor</a> (for example, a path to ground), or a region with an excess charge of the opposite polarity (positive or negative). The familiar phenomenon of a static shock – more specifically, an <a href="/facts/Electrostatic_discharge/I55BBYfS">electrostatic discharge</a> – is caused by the neutralization of a charge.
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Static electricity