Static was first "discovered" in the sixth century B.C.Greek philospher Thales of Miletus saw that when amber was rubbed it would attract small particles. Static is complected dealing with electrons and protons, and best explained with examples. When you rub an ordinary pocet comb against wool a wool ball will stick to the comb. If you did not rub the comb the wool ball would not stick to the comb. This can be explained by when the comb is rubbed it is charged and a chargedobject typically attracts neutal objects. Since the wool ball is neutral it is attracted to the comb. When the wool ball touches the comb it gets some of the charge. The ball is then repelled by the comb becuse like charges repel each other.
Currents...
There are two main types of currents AC and DC...
DC meaning direct current is a current that flows at a uniform strength in a single direction. An example to demonstrate this is to take a carbon rod and a zinc plate and place them in a glass jar containing a solution of amonpmium chloride and water. This mixture will generate 1.5 volts of electricity, enough to light a flashlight bulb.
AC or alternating current is a current that changes its direction of flow at regular intervals. During a fraction of a second (with the current flowing in one direction), the current strength starts at zero, increases to maxium strength and then decreases to zero. The current than flows in the opposite direction, its strength increasing from zero to maxium and then decreasing to zero. So the current "alternates" or changes back and forth.
