How does an object gain electric charge?

Answer 1

Atoms gain electric charge by gaining or losing electrons.If they gain extra electrons,they get negative charge since electrons are negatively charged.If an atom loses electrons it gets positive charge .

Answer 2

The truth behind the phenomenon of getting charged is bringing an imbalance in the number of positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons. Electrons are, somehow, free to get removed from a neutral atom by friction process. Suppose if we rub a glass rod with a silk cloth, then some of the electrons will get migrated right from the glass to the silk. So glass gets positively charged as electrons are lacking and silk becomes negatively charged as electrons become excess or surplus. This is known to be frictional electrification.

Another method is electrostatic induction. If a charged, say negatively charged, copper ball is brought nearby (without direct touch) another neutral copper ball, then electrons in the second ball will be driven away from this negatively charged one and so near end becomes positive and far end of the second ball becomes negative. Now, suppose we touch the second ball, then the electrons at the far end would flow down to the earth through our body. But the positive end would remain the same. After taking off the finger on the second ball, if we remove the negatively charged ball from its location, then the positive charge of the second ball would get distributed uniformly all over the surface. Now the second is positively charged. This process is charging without direct contact of the charged body. Hence electrostatic induction. This plays an important role in the formation of lightning in between the clouds and between the clouds and earth's surface.