What will happen if you rub a acetate strip and a paper towel together?(static electricity) Which of the two is a conductor and insulator or are they both the same.

What happens when you rub two conductors together and what happed when you rub two insulators together?

Both are insulators.

Nothing happens when you rub conductors together, rubbing insulators allows charge to be transfered and it stays put.

When you rub an acetate strip and a paper towel together, you are creating friction between the two materials. This rubbing action causes the transfer of electrons between the acetate strip and the paper towel, resulting in the buildup of static electricity.

In terms of conductivity, both the acetate strip and the paper towel are considered insulators. Insulators are materials that do not readily allow the flow of electric charge. They are characterized by having electrons tightly bound to their atoms, making it difficult for them to move freely.

By rubbing the acetate strip and the paper towel together, the transfer of electrons occurs due to the strong attraction between opposite charges. Electrons are transferred from one material to the other, causing one material to become positively charged (due to losing electrons) and the other to become negatively charged (due to gaining electrons). This separation of charges is what creates the static electricity.

In contrast, if you rub two conductors together, such as two metal objects, nothing significant happens. Conductors are materials that allow the easy flow of electric charges, usually due to the presence of free electrons. When conductors come into contact, any charge that is transferred is quickly dispersed or distributed throughout the conductive material, resulting in no observable effects.

Likewise, rubbing two insulators together, such as two plastic objects, can also cause a transfer of charges due to friction. However, unlike conductors, insulators are not able to easily disperse or distribute the transferred charges. As a result, the charge buildup remains localized, creating static electricity.