Question

11. A hard-rubber or plastic comb rubbed against wool can often be shown to have a static charge. Why does a metal comb not readily show a static charge when rubbed against wool? Use 3 – 4 complete sentences in your answer

Answer 1

Metals are good conductors. This means a metal surface would have a have a huge sea of free electrons and thus any small charge imbalances that occur at its surface will be quickly distributed over the entire metal surface. This will greatly reduce the charge density (charge per unit area), hence making any static charge buildup difficult to observe in practise.