
The act of pulling electrons away from one thing and putting them on another
thing has a familiar name: static electricity. Static means “sitting still,” and
refers to the fact that once you rub the balloon on your hair, it remains negatively
charged until you give those electrons somewhere to escape to (e.g., you touch it
to your friend and give them a shock and irreparably harm your friendship).
You notice static clings on your socks in the dryer; that’s because the
tumbling causes your socks to exchange electrons—causing some items to be
unfashionably stuck to others. You get a static shock when you touch a doorknob
after walking around in ...