Electrostatics is a branch of physics that deals with the phenomena and properties of stationary or slow-moving electric charges.

Since classical physics, it has been known that some materials such as amber attract lightweight particles after rubbing. The Greek word for amber, ήλεκτρον, or electron, was the source of the word 'electricity'. Electrostatic phenomena arise from the forces that electric charges exert on each other. Such forces are described by Coulomb's law. Even though electrostatically induced forces seem to be rather weak, the electrostatic force between e.g. an electron and a proton, that together make up a hydrogen ¨[atom]], is about 36 orders of magnitude stronger than the gravitational force acting between them.