The origin and Source of Electicity

When : Oct 16, Saturday,
Where : Van Allen Hall, Room 70

Atoms are made up of electrons and a nucleus

What is an Atom and What is a Nucleus?

The nucleus is made up of neutrons(no charge) and positively charged protons, leaving it with a net positive charge. An atom, at the simplest level, can be thought as a mini version of the solar system, with the nucleus like the Sun, and the electrons going around the nucleus, like the planets. The electrons move around the nucleus because they are attracted to the nucleus because positive charges attract negative charges (opposites attract).

 

An atom has an equal number of posititely charged protons, and negatively charged electrons, leaving it neutral.

You might ask yourself: What would happen if we removed some of the electrons from the atom?
Well this would leave the atom with a net positive charge, leading to static electricity.

You will notice this when you rub a balloon against your hair, like this boy:

Rubbing the balloon against your hair removes electrons from the atoms of your hair, where they migrate to the atoms of the balloon. This leaves the balloon negative and your hair positive, which leads to the attraction of the hair to the balloon.