Losing Charge (charge theft)
In this animation a charged object (the sphere in the center) is attracting neutrally charged particles from the air. Remember that neutrally charged objects (conductors or insulators) will always be attracted to a charged object. As the objects reach the charged object they end up picking up excess charge. Once they pick up excess charge they now have the same charge as the object so they are repelled by it. As they leave, they take charges with them. Given enough time, the particles in the air will remove the excess charge from the object leaving it neutrally charged. This explains why on dry days we tend to have more trouble with static electricity build-up than on humid (moist) days. On moist days there are more water molecules in the air to steal charge more rapidly. On dry days there are fewer particles in the air to steal charges so we accumulate charge until we touch something and get discharged (shocked).
