Everyday Forces
Have you ever thought about why the plastic bags from your lunches stick to your clothing or why lightning strikes? Well, these are just some of the many examples of electrostatic forces in our everyday lives.
Plastic bags: As you unwrap your lunch, the plastic bag gets charged with a positive charge, and is attracted to your negatively charged clothing. This is due to the fact that when one object is negatively charged and the other positively charged they will be attracted to each other.
Lightning is another example of electrostatic forces in everyday life, but is shown on a massive scale. When clouds rub against each other and the particles will gain a charge, and these charges want to equalise. As the ground has a neutral force this is an ideal place for the particles to equalise their charge, and the flash of lightning is the charges equalising with the ground.
Woollen clothing: When taking off woollen clothing the rub against the other items of clothing makes the wool negatively charged. As the wool wants to equalise its charge this is the noise and slight zap that occurs.
Plastic bags: As you unwrap your lunch, the plastic bag gets charged with a positive charge, and is attracted to your negatively charged clothing. This is due to the fact that when one object is negatively charged and the other positively charged they will be attracted to each other.
Lightning is another example of electrostatic forces in everyday life, but is shown on a massive scale. When clouds rub against each other and the particles will gain a charge, and these charges want to equalise. As the ground has a neutral force this is an ideal place for the particles to equalise their charge, and the flash of lightning is the charges equalising with the ground.
Woollen clothing: When taking off woollen clothing the rub against the other items of clothing makes the wool negatively charged. As the wool wants to equalise its charge this is the noise and slight zap that occurs.
Photocopiers: Photocopiers also need electrostatic forces to work. Inside the photocopier there is a special drum, charged with static electricity and the black ink commonly known as toner. This drum attracts the toner particles but the light allows the toner only touch the marked parts of the paper.
