Which process can remove electrons from objects by rubbing them together?

Which process can remove electrons from objects by rubbing them together?

• A. Friction
• B. Conduction
• C. Induction
• D. Evaporation

Answer: (A)

Rubbing two different materials together can cause electrons to move from one object to the other. This is friction-induced charging, often called the triboelectric effect. The rubbing provides energy that helps electrons overcome their attachment to atoms, so electrons transfer and leave one object with a net positive charge and the other with a net negative charge. In everyday examples, rubbing a balloon on hair and sticking to a wall shows this effect. The other processes involve different ways charges move or appear: conduction is charge transfer by direct contact to even out charges, induction is rearrangement of charges due to a nearby charged object without actual transfer between objects, and evaporation is a phase change with no relation to charging. So the mechanism that removes electrons by rubbing is friction.

Rubbing two different materials together can cause electrons to move from one object to the other. This is friction-induced charging, often called the triboelectric effect. The rubbing provides energy that helps electrons overcome their attachment to atoms, so electrons transfer and leave one object with a net positive charge and the other with a net negative charge. In everyday examples, rubbing a balloon on hair and sticking to a wall shows this effect. The other processes involve different ways charges move or appear: conduction is charge transfer by direct contact to even out charges, induction is rearrangement of charges due to a nearby charged object without actual transfer between objects, and evaporation is a phase change with no relation to charging. So the mechanism that removes electrons by rubbing is friction.