1. Static Electricity Objectives:
Discuss the nature of static electricity.
Discuss lightning protection.
List nuisance charges of static electricity.
List useful charges of static electricity.

2. Static charges can cause a painful shock!
Static Electricity
Static charges can cause a painful shock!

3. Static Electricity Charges
Static charges can be a nuisance, or dangerous, or beneficial.
Electric shocks from walking on carpet can be annoying.
Electrostatic discharge can ruin sensitive electronic components.
Copy machines and sandpaper rely on the application of static electricity.

4. Static Electricity
Grains of sand receive a charge to help them stand apart when making sandpaper.

5. Static Electricity Charges
Electronic air filters called precipitators use static charges to attract small particles in the air and trap them in the filter.
The word static means not moving.
Electrostatic charges build up on insulators.
A static charge can be positive or negative.

6. Electronic air cleaner or precipitator
Static Electricity
Electronic air cleaner or precipitator

7. Producing a static charge.
Static Electricity
Producing a static charge.

8. Static Electricity Lightning
The best example of static electricity in nature is lightning.
The movement of water droplets in a thundercloud generates a static charge.
Lightning occurs when the positive and negative areas have the potential difference to overcome the air’s resistance.

9. Static Electricity
The typical thundercloud contains areas both positively and negatively charged.

10. Static Electricity Lightning Protection
Lightning rods are used to help protect objects from lightning.
Lightning rods provide a safe path to channel the electric discharge.
A lightning arrestor is also used for protection.

11. Lightning travels from negative to positive areas.
Static Electricity
Lightning travels from negative to positive areas.

12. A lightning rod provides an easy path to ground.
Static Electricity
A lightning rod provides an easy path to ground.

13. Useful static charges are often used in spray painting.
Static Electricity
Useful static charges are often used in spray painting.

14. The drum of a copy machine is coated with selenium.
Static Electricity
The drum of a copy machine is coated with selenium.

15. The drum receives a positive charge.
Static Electricity
The drum receives a positive charge.

16. The image is transferred to the selenium drum.
Static Electricity
The image is transferred to the selenium drum.

17. Negatively charged powder is applied to the positively charged drum.
Static Electricity
Negatively charged powder is applied to the positively charged drum.

18. Static Electricity
The negatively charged powder is attracted to the positively charged paper.

19. Static Electricity Review: The word static means not moving.
An object is positively charged by removing electrons.
An object is negatively charged by adding electrons.
Lightning is an example of a natural static charge.