Blog 9: Electric Fields

I remember that when I was a young lad in elementary school, there was something that made me a feel a bit uneasy when I climbed onto the playground.  Occasionally, when I would run merrily around in the playground, my hand would feel a sharp sting when I touched one of the metal bars of the playground frame.  For a while, I had believed that it was due to the sun heating up the metal to unbearable temperatures until it became so hot that it would burn your finger if you touched it.  However, as I matured and as my mental intellect skyrocketted, I discovered that it is actually caused by the phenomenon of static electricity and the transfer of electrons.  If our body becomes negatively charged due to static electricity, we have an excess of negatively charged electrons, and our body wants to give those extra electrons up.  When we make contact with a electrical conductor such as a metal playground bar, the excess electrons rush to the less negative bars out of our body.  The transfer of electrons from our finger touching the bar causes a shock.  Our body can become negatively charged through a number of ways, the most common being friction.  I believe that when I would slide down the slide, the friction between my pants and the slide transfered electrons from the slide to my body, giving me a negative charge.