Why Does Static Cling?

An Inquiry Performed byEmily Weil

Fall 2009

Some Vocabulary to Know:• Poles- one of two opposite or contrasted principles or

tendencies: either of the two regions or parts of an electric battery, magnet, or the like, that exhibits electrical or magnetic polarity.– Usually seen as positive (+) or negative (-)

• Attraction- the electric or magnetic force that acts between oppositely charged bodies, tending to draw them together.

• Static Cling- the sticking together of clothing to other clothing or a person's body, caused by an accumulation of static electricity in the materials, esp. those containing synthetic fibers.

And a Couple More:

• Electricity- movement of charged particles, or electrons, through a conductor (positively and negatively charged particles).

• Electrons- small, negatively charged particle that is often found orbiting the nucleus of an atom.

Common Experiences With Static

• Rubbing a Balloon

• Rubbing Socks on Rug

• TV Screen

• Causes Hair to Stand Up

What Is Static Cling?

• Why do objects seem to pull together? (are “attracted” to each other)

• Objects that “cling” together have opposite “charges” – (one is positive and the other is negative)

It is caused by the buildup of Static Electricity.

Test It Out!

• Rub your socks on a rug, and then touch a metal doorknob.

– What happens?– Did you feel a shock?– Does this relate to Static Electricity?

But What is Static Electricity?

• Static Electricity occurs through the transferring of electrons.

• When one object transfers electrons to another object, the object that loses electrons becomes positively charged while the other object becomes negatively charged.

Let’s Make It More Clear• How do we test the idea of

opposite charges being “attracted” to one another.

• Try two magnets. – If you try to put the same

“poles” together, the magnets will push away from each other.

– If you put opposite poles together, they will pull towards each other.

Does Static Always Occur?• Do all materials produce static electricity and

cling when they are rubbed together?

–Test:• 1) Rub your feet (with socks on) on a rug.• 2) Touch a metal object such as a doorknob.• 3) Note what happens.• 4) Test two materials that are the same. (ie: two of the

same pair of sock or sleeves of a long sleeved shirt)• 5) Note what happens with the similar materials.

It doesn’t.

• Static electricity is not formed when the same material is rubbed together.

• But why?– The materials that are the same are the same in

every way. They have the same amount of electrons and same atoms that make them up. (Therefore, it’s like trying to put together the same poles of two magnets; they are not attracted.)

More Tests:• 1) Rub a balloon on your head and feel the attraction it

creates with your hair.– What does the balloon do to your hair?

• 2) Touch the same balloon to a wall.– What happens?

• 3) Touch tape together (sticky and non-sticky sides touch). – Pull apart. (One side will be positively charged, and the other

will be negatively charged.) – Try putting two positive sides together and opposite sides.

(What happens?)

Resources:• Dictionary.com

• Naab, Laurie (2009). “Why Static Clings”. Retrieved from Science and

Children, December 2009, Vol. 47, #4.

• WhatIsStaticCling.com