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charge attraction

/ˈtʃɑrdʒ əˈtrækʃən/
IPA guide

In physics, the pull of two objects toward each other — one with a positive charge and the other negatively charged — is called charge attraction.

If you rub a balloon against your wool sweater, friction transfers negatively charged electrons from the wool to the balloon, making the balloon negatively charged. If you then hold it above your head, strands of your positively charged hair will stand up toward it. This is an example of charge attraction. Even on an atomic scale, an atom's negatively charged electrons are attracted to its positively charged nucleus, keeping them in place.

Definitions of charge attraction
  1. noun
    the force that pulls particles or objects toward each other when they carry opposite electric charges, one positive and one negative
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