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Screen saver/Graphics: FightAIDS@Home – What is electrostatic energy?

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Screen saver/Graphics: FightAIDS@Home – What is electrostatic energy?

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You can see electrostatic forces in action if you rub a balloon on a dry wooly sweater, and then gently place the balloon against a wall: It sticks! This is because all objects are made of atoms. Each atom has an equal number of electrons and protons. Electrons have a negative charge, while protons have a positive charge. These charges balance one another exactly to make objects neutral, or uncharged. When we rub the balloon against a sweater, the friction causes electrons to be rubbed off the sweater and onto the balloon. The balloon becomes charged with static electricity, and it now has more electrons than protons, so it is negatively charged; the wall is more positively charged than the balloon so the balloon sticks. If you were to rub a second balloon on your sweater, and hang the two balloons from a string, you would see the two balloons repel one another.

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