Have you ever touched a metal rail and felt a jolt of electricity? Or rubbed a balloon on your hair so the balloon can stick to a wall? If so, you’ve experienced static electricity. While these are minor demonstrations, it was Benjamin Franklin’s experiments with static electricity that paved the way for the electrical revolution we’re enjoying today. But what precisely is static electricity?
Static electricity is an immobile buildup of electrical charge. It’s generated via repeated contact, often when two things rub against each other. To comprehend this, we have to understand the structure of an atom. The nucleus of an atom contains protons with a positive charge and neutrons with no charge whatsoever. Electrons with a negative charge orbit the nucleus.
Normally, an atom has an equal number of protons and electrons, but contact between two atoms can cause the electrons to be more attracted to one atom than the other. They are transferred, leaving one atom with fewer electrons, and thus a positive charge. This gives the other atom, which now has more electrons, a negative charge. This can even happen with atoms in the air, which is how we get lightning. In fact, it was lightning that was the key to an important breakthrough in electricity research.
photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons / 照片：維基共享資源提供
Benjamin Franklin conducted an experiment by flying a kite in a storm. He’d attached a metal wire to the kite to attract lightning with the intention of capturing its electricity in a special jar. To protect himself, he thought it prudent to hold the kite string with a silk ribbon rather than touch it directly. The experiment worked, proving that lightning is electrical in nature, and led to the invention of the lightning rod for protecting buildings. It also inspired further experiments to conduct and store electricity so that it could power the inventions of the modern world.
你是否曾接觸過金屬欄杆並感受到一陣電擊？或是曾在你的頭髮上摩擦一顆氣球，這樣氣球就能黏在牆上？若是如此，你就曾體驗過靜電。雖然這些只是小小的演示，正是班傑明富蘭克林的靜電實驗成就了我們今日所享有的電氣變革。但究竟什麼是靜電？
靜電是電荷在定點的積累。它是透過反覆接觸所產生的，通常是當兩項物件互相摩擦時。為了要理解這一點，我們必須了解原子的結構。原子核包含帶正電荷的「質子」以及完全不帶電荷的「中子」。帶負電荷的「電子」繞著原子核運行。
一般而言，一個原子具有相同數量的質子和電子，但是兩個原子之間的接觸會導致電子比起其中一個原子，更容易被另一個原子吸引。電子被轉移，留下一個具有較少電子的原子，因此帶正電。這也使另一個現在有了更多電子的原子帶負電。這甚至可能發生在空氣中的原子上，這就是閃電產生的方式。事實上，閃電就是電力研究取得重要突破的關鍵。
富蘭克林透過在暴風雨中放風箏進行了一項實驗。他在風箏上繫上一根金屬導線來吸引閃電，企圖使它的電力儲存到一個特殊的罐子裡。為了保護自己，他認為謹慎的做法是綁一條絲帶在風箏線上，而非直接觸碰它。這項實驗成功了，證明了閃電本質上是帶電的，並促成用於保護建築物的避雷針的發明。它也激發了後續傳導和儲存電力的實驗，好讓電可以為當代世界的發明提供動力。
MORE INFORMATION
static electricity 靜電
jolt n. 震動；突然的一擊
buildup n. 累積；增強
prudent adj. 謹慎的；精明的
lightning rod n. 避雷針
Key Vocabulary
1. pave the way for 為……鋪路；為……提供準備
Thomas Edison was an inventor whose work paved the way for future scientists.
湯瑪士愛迪生是一位發明家，他的發明為未來的科學家鋪路。
2. revolution n. 革命；變革
Rock’n’roll was a musical revolution when it started in the 1950s.
搖滾樂於西元1950年代誕生時是一項音樂上的變革。
3. immobile adj. 固定的；無法移動的
After the car accident, Scott was completely immobile and had to stay in bed.
那場車禍發生後，史考特完全無法活動而且必須臥床。
4. whatsoever adv. (用於否定句後表強調)無論如何；絲毫
Through decades of research, doctors have agreed that there are no benefits whatsoever to smoking.
經歷幾十年的研究，醫生們一致認為吸菸絲毫沒有任何益處。
5. orbit v. 沿軌道圍繞(物體)運行
Though Earth orbits the sun once every 365 days, Mercury completes its year in just 88 days.
儘管地球每365天繞行太陽一圈，但水星僅需88天就完成了一年的公轉。
6. breakthrough n. 突破；重大進展
Newton’s law concerning gravity was an important breakthrough in science.
牛頓的「萬有引力」定律是科學上的一項重要突破。
7. conduct v. 操作；主導；傳導（電或熱）
Ms Jenkins conducted the meeting in a professional manner.
詹金斯小姐以專業的方式主導這場會議。
Metal conducts electricity, making it more dangerous in a lightning storm.
金屬會導電，使其在雷雨中更加危險。
8. attach vt. 連接；附上
Kyle attached a red tag to his luggage so he could identify it easily.
凱爾在他的行李上繫了一個紅色標籤，這樣他就可以很容易辨認出它來。
9. intention n. 意圖；打算
Johnny has no intention of doing any homework tonight. He just wants to relax.
強尼今晚並不打算做任何功課。他只想放鬆。
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