Skip to Content Go to sign in Skip to Primary Navigation Skip to Secondary Navigation Skip to Page Navigation Skip to Header Navigation Skip to Footer Navigation Read more about accessability options and our navigation

Physics Classroom is making strides to make our site accessible to everyone. Our site contains 6 navigation areas. The Primary, Secondary, and Page Level navigations have a screen reader version of their nav structure that allows using the left and right keys to navigate sibling navigation items, and up or down keys to navigate parent or child navigation items. The others can be navigated using tabs. The Primary Navigation handles the first 2 levels of site pages. The Secondary (which is not always available) handles the 3rd and 4th level of structure. The Page level navigation allows you to navigate the current page's headings quickly. The Header Navigation contains the Light/Dark Mode toggle, Search, Notifications and account login. The Breadcrumb Navigation contains the breadcrumb of the current page. If the current page has a breadcrumb, you can get to it by skipping to the content and tabbing in reverse (shift plus tab). The Footer Navigation contains links such as Privacy, Contact, about and terms. Some resources contain an Audio Player that can be activated by holding down the T key for 3 seconds, and then using K to pause and resume. While not every area of Physics Classroom is usable purely from keyboard and screen reader, we are committed to continue work on making this possible. If you have questions or need additional help, please use this link to contact us.

Return to screen reader navigation
Home Minds On Static Electricity Mission SE3 Triboelectric Charging Help Help 10

Mission SE3 Triboelectric Charging

The Question

A plastic golf tube is rubbed by bunny fur and electrons are transferred from the fur to the tube. As a result, the plastic golf tube acquires __.

Physics Rules

Triboelectric Charging
Triboelectric charging (a.k.a., charging by friction) is the charging process that usually involves the rubbing together of two objects of dissimilar materials in order to transfer electrons from one object to the other. The object made of the material with the greatest affinity for electrons is the object that receives the electrons; the object with the lesser affinity for electrons provides the electrons. The process usually involves the rubbing of the two materials because it increases the amount of close intimate contact between the different atoms and allows for more electrons to be transferred.

Think About It

Charging processes involve a movement of electrons (see Know the Law section). When charging by friction, as in this case, electrons move from one object to the other object. The object that gains the electrons becomes negatively charged. The object that loses the electrons becomes positively charged.

Hot Link