Static electricity is the collection or build-up of electrical charges on the surface of a non-conducting material. It can result in objects being attracted to each other or repelled, or it can result in a spark between the objects. In fact, the electrons jump from one object, which has an abundance of electrons and is negatively charged, to another object, which has fewer electrons and is positively charged. Humans can observe static by either viewing sparks flowing through space or feeling the sensation of a small shock.

Lightning is an example of static electricity, in which the electrons jumping through the atmosphere vibrating the atoms in the atmosphere.

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