Static electricity is caused by an imbalance of electrical charges within or on the surface of a material. All physical objects are made up of atoms that contain protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons are positively charged, electrons are negatively charged while neutrons are neutral. Like charges repel each other and unlike charges attract each other. When two objects of different materials come into contact with each other and then separate, some electrons can be transferred to achieve a neutral charge balance. As a result, the atoms of one of these materials will have an excess of (negatively charged) electrons while the other will have a deficit of (positively charged) electrons. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In general, most questions are electrically neutral. This implies that the number of protons in atoms and molecules is equal to the number of electrons. When a material obtains a surplus of electrons in any way, it will have a negative charge. Subsequently, when this material is brought into contact with another electrically neutral or positive material, this will generate static electricity through the release of excess electrons from the negatively charged material. The electric field generated will produce effects of attraction, repulsion or even a spark. Since there are various methods for generating static electricity, for the purposes of this project we will focus on triboelectricity - generation of static electricity by friction. The triboelectric effect is a way of generating static electricity in which some materials become electrically charged when rubbed vigorously against other materials. This can cause excessive electrical charges to build up on their surfaces. As a result, triboelectricity is formed. The amount of static electricity created is determined by the triboelectric series. A material at the bottom of the series, when touched with a material at the top of the series, will acquire a more negative charge. The further apart two materials are on the series, the greater the charge transferred. Since this project is about generating electricity due to friction, we will talk about the various devices and applications that use the triboelectric effect to generate electricity. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay A device that can generate electricity through friction is called a triboelectric generator. It is manufactured by stacking two polymer sheets made of materials with very different triboelectric characteristics such as hair and Teflon. Two metal films then enclose these polymer sheets. Once subjected to mechanical deformation, due to nanoscale roughness, the friction between the two films would generate equal but opposite charges on two sides. This causes the formation of a triboelectric potential layer in the interface region, which acts as a charge "pump" to drive the flow of electrons into the external load if a change in system capacitance occurs.