Mika’s new hairstyle and electrons
Today I went to the playground with Mika. It was great fun. First we went on the swings, then we had a few goes on the roundabout. Finally, we went down the slide lots of times. Afterwards, Mika looked really funny! All his hair was standing up from sliding down. We wondered why that was.
I did some research and found out that Mika’s new hairstyle has something to do with electrically charged particles. Everything is made up of tiny particles. The slide, the sand on the playground, the air we breathe, even you, Mika, and me; we are all made up of tiny particles. The particles are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. And they have funny names: one is called an electron, for example. These electrons are everywhere. The electron is a very special particle because it has an electric charge. There are other particles with electric charges, such as the proton. The electron and the proton like each other. They attract each other. This is because the electron is negatively charged and the proton is positively charged.
“How should I imagine that?” Mika asked me. I thought about it: “It’s actually similar to magnets. The north pole and south pole attract each other! At the same time, north poles repel each other, and south poles repel each other. Electrons also repel other electrons, and protons repel other protons.” Mika was delighted: “Yes, that’s right, it’s really similar! But I notice one difference. Electrons and protons can also exist on their own, but a magnet always has both a north pole and a south pole; there is no magnet that consists only of the north pole or only of the south pole.” I thought about it: “That’s right, you’re right, Mika!” Then I looked at Mika’s new hairstyle, had to smile and realised: ‘Now we know why all your fur is standing on end. There are currently more electrons than protons in your fur. The individual hairs are therefore electrically charged and repel each other.’
I stroked Mika’s fur and said, “I’ll take a few electrons off you, then your fur will lie flat again.” When I touched Mika’s fur, it crackled a little and Mika looked like his usual self again. “That was a great day,” said Mika. “Yes, and we learned something new too,” I added.
By the way:
If you are interested in electrons and want to know what other particles there are, then take a look at Teilchenzoo vom DESY.
