Walk across a carpet and get a shock when you touched a doorknob?
Hear your sweater “crackle” as you pulled it off at the end of the day?
Well, all these different experiences are caused by the same thing: static electricity. Anytime two different materials rub together, the friction can cause an electric charge (a kind of electricity) to build up on each object. Let’s take a quick look at what causes this charge.
You may remember that all matter is made up of tiny particles called atoms. But did you know that atoms are composed of even smaller particles? Two of these smaller particles, the proton and the electron, have electric charges that are exact opposites. Protons have a positive (+) charge, and electrons have a negative (-) charge.