How Does It Work?> Have you ever pulled clothes out of a dryer? If you do it as soon as the dryer has stopped, you may hear the crackle of little electric sparks. That’s static electricity. The clothes pick up these extra electric charges by rubbing and tumbling in the dryer. And then they give them to you. (No charge!)
Electric charges are either positive or negative. When positive charges meet negative charges, the two charges attract, or pull together. Socks charged with static electricity attract, and cling to each other.
What happens if two positives meet? Or two negatives? Two charges of the same kind repel, or push apart. When the hairs on your head get charged up, they repel and move apart. Your hairs may actually stand on end!
Make your own static electricity! On a dry day, rub a comb on a wool sweater. Then hold the charged comb near your hair. Does the comb attract or repel the hair?
