How Do Balloons Stick to Walls?

What You'll Learn

• Static electricity is a buildup of tiny electric charges on an object
• When you rub a balloon on your hair, electrons move from your hair to the balloon
• The balloon becomes negatively charged
• Opposites attract — the charged balloon pulls on the neutral wall and sticks
• This also makes your hair stand up because each strand has the same charge and repels the others

Words to Know

Static electricity

A buildup of electric charges on an object

"Static electricity made the balloon stick."

Electron

A tiny particle with a negative charge

"Electrons moved from my hair to the balloon."

Charge

A kind of electric energy

"The balloon had a negative charge."

Attract

To pull toward each other

"Opposite charges attract."

Check What You Learned

Fun Facts

• Static electricity is an imbalance of electric charges on the surface of an object

  Source: Britannica

• Rubbing two materials together can cause electrons to transfer from one material to another

  Source: American Physical Society

• The triboelectric effect causes some materials to gain electrons (becoming negative) and others to lose electrons (becoming positive)

  Source: Journal of Electrostatics

• Rubber balloons readily gain electrons from hair, becoming negatively charged

  Source: Physics Classroom

• Opposite charges attract; like charges repel

  Source: Coulomb's Law

• A charged balloon induces charge separation in a neutral wall, causing attraction

  Source: Khan Academy / electrostatics