Electrostatics, as the name implies, is the study of stationary electric charges. A rod of plastic rubbed with fur or a rod of glass rubbed with silk will attract small pieces of paper and is said to be electrically charged. The charge on plastic rubbed with fur is defined as negative, and the charge on glass rubbed with silk is defined as positive. Electrically charged objects have several important characteristics: Like charges repel one another; that is, positive repels positive and negative repels negative. Unlike charges attract each another; that is, positive attracts negative. Charge is conserved. A neutral object has no net charge. If the plastic rod and fur are initially neutral, when the rod becomes charged by the fur, a negative charge is transferred from the fur to the rod. The net negative charge on the rod is equal to the net positive charge on the fur.