Sharp Charge - Dull Charge

Look at both sides of the periodic table. Ignore the balanced noble gases. Chlorine and the halogens have almost full valence bands they will attract negative charge now and then with statistically spurious positive charge from the nucleus of the atom. If a spurious electron briefly fills the valance band of the Chlorine atom the atom is said to be negatively charged.

The forces of charged particles pulling at a small distance will be far from uniform. Sharp charge pulls far and statistically seldom (Poisson). Dull charge pulls a short distance with a more constant force.

The act of an electron jumping quickly from a surface or a molecule leads to a net force in the opposing direction as the electrons backfill the electron that has jumped. The electrons that jump seem to move through thin air unopposed while the backfill electrons bump into matter and drag this matter with them. 

Electrons tend to move in an orbiting manner. There are statistical orbitals that have been deemed likely places to find electrons. These orbitals rotate quickly as electrons are moving at a real fraction of the speed of light. These orbitals will tend towards spherical or elliptical orbits. These stable configurations for electron movement become the building blocks for atoms and molecules alike.