What is the difference between “normal” electricity and static electricity?
In: Physics
One of the issues that can hurt understanding is that “normal” electricity (that is, a circuit with a battery and a lightbulb or whatever) is modeled very similarly to static electricity in school to help with comprehension, and even application.
In static electricity there is a build up of negatively charged electrons which leap to a less negatively charged thing causing a spark. Also like repels like, and unlike attracts, if you have negatively charged things from excess electrons or positively charged things from a lack of electrons. All pretty easy to understand eh?
Then we get to current in a circuit and the *simplified* version is that there is a build up of electrons on the negative side of the cell and they flow through the circuit, drop off energy at the load, and end up used up on the positive side of the cell. Very similar idea to static electricity, but not at all what is actually happening.
In such a circuit the electrons are actually not moving through it at all (technically they are just very slowly through something called electron drift which is basically unrelated to what we’re talking about) but are essentially staying in place just bumping into each other. What you actually want to be considering is how the electromagnetic field propagates through space around the circuit and the interplay with charge in a cross section of conductors. Something [like this](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9kAkv.png). It is complicated, has no handy water in pipes analogy, and isn’t really necessary for highschool level physics nor even many STEM undergrad degrees. It’s very different from static electricity though.
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