The tribolelectric series is a scale that shows an everyday material's potential for electric charge. It has the most positively charged ion materials at one end, neutral atom materials in the middle, and the most negatively charged ion materials at the other end. Materials on each end of the spectrum are considered polarized. Materials at the far ends of the scales are most likely to create static electricity given the greater exchange of electrons. Common items that are neutral and don't create static electricity include cotton, paper, steel, wood, silk and aluminum.
Common materials with high positive charges include leather, glass, quartz, rabbit's fur, human skin and human hair. Materials with low negative charges include Teflon, silicon, plastic wrap and vinyl.
You can see the effect of static electricity when a hot iron meets clothing or when clothes cling to each other in a dryer. When a hairbrush with a negative ionic charge meets hair, which always has a positive ionic charge, the two materials exchange electrons and acquire the same charge, repelling each other. That's why your hair can stand on end when repeatedly brushed. You can also feel the effect of static electricity when you touch a doorknob or rub your feet on carpet.
Lightning is a mass scale example of static electricity. It occurs when droplets of ice and rain fall through the atmosphere's electric field, becoming both positive and negatively charged, according to Ron Kurtus' School for Champions. These electrically polarized particles meet, creating static electricity. When the positive charges are near the top of a cloud and the negative charges below it in the middle or bottom, it ionizes the air around. Ionized air creates less resistance and allows for the electric spark to jump to objects on the ground.