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One of the most common science classroom experiments involves a balloon, and most people are familiar with the feeling of running it across one’s hair and generating a static charge. It’s such a common feature most people don’t even think about what causes it. Scientists, however, have done so, but they remain unclear about the mechanisms involved or why it happens the way it does.
At one point, it was believed the static charge occurred because of the interaction of the two different materials, each of which carried different numbers of electrons. However, recent experiments have shown this particular explanation doesn’t hold water, as it doesn’t explain why static charges can also build up between objects of the same material. Even the prevailing explanation for this, which states the difference in size accounts for the charge, also doesn’t work.
The prevailing theory among researchers suggests there may be other molecules that are being transferred in the contact.
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