When we rub two bodies, the hair and a straw, for example, one of them is positively electrified and the other negatively electrified, but what is the explanation for this event?
Many scientists have formulated theories in an attempt to explain this fact. Benjamin Franklin, one of the most famous men in the United States in the 17th century, was one of those who tried to explain why this phenomenon happened. Franklin developed a theory in which he stated that electrical phenomena happened because of the existence of an electrical fluid present in all bodies. When two bodies were rubbed, there was a transfer of part of this fluid from one body to another, the body that received this fluid was positively electrified, the yielding body was negatively electrified and in a non-electrified body the fluid existed in quantities normal. Through his theory, Franklin showed that he could neither create nor destroy electrical charges, only cause electricity to pass from a body to another, that is, the total amount of fluid at the end of its transfer process between two bodies remained unchanged.
Today, with the discoveries on this subject, it is known that Franklin's theory was partially wrong, as we know that electrification occurs due to the transfer of electrons from one body to another when they rub. And this transfer did not take place through the electrical fluid Franklin had imagined, but through the passage of electrons from one body to another.
Modern theory about the structure of atoms shows that all matter is basically made up of three particles that are called protons, electrons and neutrons, which are, respectively, positive charges, negative charges and particles that do not have charge. When a body is not electrified, the number of protons is equal to the number of electrons. By rubbing two materials, one of them will be positively electrified, as it has lost electrons and will be lacking, and the other will be negatively electrified, as it will have an excess of electrons.
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By Marco Aurélio da Silva
Brazil School Team
Electricity - Physics - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SANTOS, Marco Aurélio da Silva. "The explanation for the electrification of bodies"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/fisica/a-explicacao-para-eletrizacao-dos-corpos.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
