1. Polarization:

* When a charged rod (let's say it's positively charged) is brought near a neutral pith ball, the electric field from the rod influences the charges within the pith ball.

* The electrons within the pith ball are attracted towards the positively charged rod. This causes a slight separation of charge within the pith ball.

* The side of the pith ball closest to the rod becomes slightly negative (due to the accumulation of electrons), while the opposite side becomes slightly positive (due to the depletion of electrons).

2. Attraction:

* The negatively charged side of the pith ball is now attracted to the positively charged rod.

* The positive side of the pith ball is repelled by the positively charged rod, but since the negative side is closer, the attractive force is stronger.

* The net effect is a force of attraction between the pith ball and the charged rod, causing the pith ball to move towards the rod.

Key Point: The pith ball itself remains overall neutral (the same number of positive and negative charges). However, the charge distribution within the pith ball is temporarily shifted due to the influence of the external electric field. This phenomenon is called electrostatic induction.