Question

Now take that same balloon and drag it over to the wall. You will notice that the blue negative charges move away in the wall and then the balloon sticks to the wall. This charge distribution is called induction, because the negative charges move without any touching. Why does the balloon stick to the wall?

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

The balloon sticks to the wall due to the phenomenon of electrostatic attraction. When the negatively charged balloon is brought close to the neutral wall, the negatively charged electrons in the wall are repelled by the negative charges on the balloon. This causes them to move away from the surface of the wall, creating a temporary imbalance of positive charges on the surface of the wall facing the balloon.

This temporary separation of charges creates an electric field between the balloon and the wall. The positive charges in the wall are attracted to the negative charges on the balloon, and vice versa. This electrostatic attraction between opposite charges causes the balloon to stick to the wall.

Furthermore, the surface of the balloon and the wall may have microscopic irregularities that allow for closer contact between them. This enhanced contact increases the strength of the electrostatic attraction, further contributing to the balloon sticking to the wall.