The accumulation of excess electric charge on an object

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Static electricity is the accumulation of excess electric charge on an object. This happens when electrons are transferred to or from the object, leaving it with more (negative) or fewer (positive) electrons, so the charges stay on the surface until they discharge. These accumulated charges can produce sparks, attract or repel other objects, and remain where they are until a pathway for discharge opens. This idea is different from current electricity, which is about a continuous flow of charges through a conductor in a circuit. The other terms describe how charge moves or redistributes: conduction is charge transfer by contact or through a material, while induction is the rearrangement of charges within an object due to the field of a nearby charged object, without making contact.