What’s your (electrical) sign?

A commonly available brand of plastic tape can gain or lose negatively charged electrons when you stick it to a surface and rip it off. By suspending pieces of tape from a straw, you can build an electroscope, a device that detects electrical [...]

What’s in an Atom?

Protons

Found in the nucleus of the atom
Has a positive (+) electric charge.
Weighs less than one billionth of a gram
Is approximately 2000 times more massive than an electron

Electron

Orbits the nucleus of the atom
Has a negative (-) electric charge
Weighs approximately 1/2000 of a proton

Neutrons

Found in the nucleus of the atom
Has no electrical charge
Weighs approximately [...]