Question

I rub a straw with a sheet of paper and it becomes a charged body and attracts an uncharged body.

How and why does a uncharged body become a charged body? Please explain the concept of charged and uncharged bodies.

Answer 1

You might know that all matter is made up out of atoms. Now, atoms themselves have a core, or nucleus, and electrons orbiting around the nucleus. The core has positive charge, the electrons have negative charge.

When you are rubbing the glass rod with the silk cloth, electrons are stripped away from the atoms in the glass and transferred to the silk cloth. This leaves the glass rod with more positive than negative charge, so you get a net positive charge