the.com/electrostatics
The physics of grudges: charges that just sit there, judging each other from a distance.
means The branch of physics dealing with electric charges at rest and the forces, fields, and energy they produce.
from From 'electro-' plus 'static,' the latter from Greek 'statikos' meaning 'causing to stand,' rooted in 'histanai,' to stand. The electro- prefix traces back to Greek 'elektron,' meaning amber — because ancient observers noticed that rubbing amber with cloth made it attract light objects like feathers, the earliest recorded brush with static charge. So the word literally preserves the memory of a rubbed piece of fossilized tree resin that mysteriously started pulling things toward it.
- origin story
- Named from Greek elektron, amber, rubbed with cat fur
- core law
- Coulomb force drops with square of distance, not time
- party trick
- Explains why balloons stick to hair, not love
- deadly cousin
- Lightning is electrostatics with really bad anger management