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When a storm cloud passed over Franklin's kite the negative charges in the cloud leaked onto his kite, his kite string, his key, and a Leyden jar attached to the key by a thin metal wire. Franklin however, was unaffected by the negative charges because he was holding a dry silk string which insulated him from the charges on the key. When Franklin reached out his knuckle to touch the key he received a shock, because the negative charges in the key were so strongly attracted to the positive charges in his body that a spark jumped from the key to his hand. Franklin's experiment successfully showed that lightning was actually static electricity.

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17y ago

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