What Is Static and What Causes It?

Static electricity is a charge at rest. Static charges are caused by surfaces separating, friction, and movement of materials against surfaces (such as a shoe brushing against the floor). Nearly any time two materials are rubbed together there is an electric charge.

Picking up a circuit board from a table, or our clothing rubbing as we walk, sit and work, are all examples of movement that can create static charge. One object, or surface, picks up additional electrons from the surface that it is separated from, and becomes negatively charged. The surface that had given up the electrons then becomes positively charged. As electrons transfer, the absence or surplus of electrons creates an electrical field known as static electricity.