Static electricity is the result of an imbalance between negative and positive charges in an object. These charges can build up on the surface of an object until they find a way to be released or discharged. Rubbing certain materials against one another can transfer negative charges, or electrons.

To calculate the numbers of subatomic particles in an atom, use its atomic number and mass number:

1. number of protons = atomic number.
2. number of electrons = atomic number.
3. number of neutrons = mass number – atomic number.

Atoms of each element are distinguished from each other by the number of protons that are present in their nucleus. A proton and an electron have an equal amount but an opposite type of charge. Thus, if an atom contains equal numbers of protons and electrons, the atom is described as being electrically neutral.

There are three types of static generation: contact, detachment, and frictional static build up.

Some objects such as wool, glass, human skin and hair are more likely to accumulate electric charges and have static electricity. Shuffling your feet across carpet, particularly in socks, is another way your body gains more electrons; they are released when you touch something such as a doorknob or another person.

One experimenter estimates the capacitance of the human body as high as 400 picofarads, and a charge of 50,000 volts, discharged e.g. during touching a charged car, creating a spark with energy of 500 millijoules. Another estimate is 100–300 pF and 20,000 volts, producing a maximum energy of 60 mJ.

Although it doesn’t happen often, a good zap of static electricity can kill a PC, either while it’s running or when you’re or working on it. The odds of a static discharge are so low, many of us will build tons of computers and never zap anything.

Electrical shock can result in neurological complications, involving both peripheral and central nervous systems, which may present immediately or later on. However, delayed neurological complications caused by low-voltage electric shock are rarely reported.