What is static electricity

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It breaks laptops, ruins hairstyles and causes lightning.

Where does static electricity come from?

The world is made of atoms. These are tiny particles that make up our body, jeans on our legs, a seat in a car under the butt point and a smartphone with a Lifehacker on the screen.

There are smaller elements inside the atoms: a nucleus of protons and neutrons, as well as electrons that revolve around it. Protons are charged with a plus sign, electrons with a minus sign.

Usually, an atom has the same number of such pluses and minuses, so it has zero charge. But sometimes electrons leave their orbits and are attracted to other atoms. This is most often the result of friction.

The movement of electrons from one atom to another creates energy called electricity. If you run it through a wire or other conductor, you get an electric current. You can clearly see its work when you charge your smartphone via cable.

Static electricity is different. It is "lazy", does not flow and seems to be resting on the surface. The object has a positive charge if it lacks electrons, and negative when they are in excess.

How does static electricity manifest?

1. Electric discharge

Putting clean, dry wool socks on your feet and rubbing them on a nylon carpet can create an electrical shock.

During friction, electrons will jump from socks to carpet and vice versa. As a result, they will receive the opposite charge and will want to balance the number of electrons.

If the difference in their number is large enough, you will get a visible spark as soon as you touch the carpet with your socks again.

2. Attraction of objects

Brushing your hair with a plastic comb will generate static electricity.

After that, it will begin to attract small pieces of paper, trying to get rid of the deficit or excess of electrons at their expense.

3. Repulsion of objects

Rubbing a piece of paper with a woolen scarf creates a static charge.

When you try to bend the paper, the halves will start repelling each other precisely because of the electron imbalance.

What can static electricity be dangerous?

This phenomenon can lead to a number of dangerous consequences.

1. Ignition

Static electricity can cause fires where flammable materials are used, such as in printing plants.

In such a production, there is a lot of ink and paper that quickly ignites. They rub against equipment during printing, static electricity builds up, sparks and fires. How Do You Prevent a Static Electricity Fire? …

2. Manufacturing violations

Anti-Static Control Problems in The Plastics Industry are particularly affected by static electricity in the plastics or textile industries.

When these materials are positively or negatively charged, they can attract or repel from the work surface.

This disrupts the manufacturing process, which is why businesses use air ionizers to help prevent overcharging.

3. Lightning strike

During the movement of air currents that are saturated with water vapor, static electricity is generated.

It creates thunderclouds with different charges, which are discharged against each other or against the ozone layer. This is how lightning is made.

Lightning strikes tall buildings, trees and ground and causes equipment breakdowns.

How to avoid static electricity

1. Increase the humidity

Dry indoor air is the best friend of static electricity. But it practically does not appear if the humidity exceeds 85%.

To increase this figure, regularly wet mop and use a humidifier.

When the heating is on, you can put a wet cloth on the battery to evaporate the water and make the air less dry.

2. Use natural materials

Most natural materials retain moisture, synthetic materials do not. Therefore, the former are less susceptible to the generation of static electricity than the latter.

If you brush your hair with a plastic comb, it builds up a static charge and starts flying apart, ruining your hairstyle. This can be avoided by using wood accessories.

It's the same story with rubber-soled shoes. It provokes the creation of static electricity on the body. But insoles made from natural materials neutralize its effect.

Cotton T-shirts and other natural fabrics do not generate static electricity. Faux sweater is the opposite.

3. Use grounding

With it, static electricity can be discharged into the ground. This applies not only to lightning rods that redirect the charge of lightning, but also to work with electrical equipment.

When a professional technician opens a laptop to clean it from dust, he must use a special grounding cord fixed to his hand - an antistatic wrist strap.

It is needed to avoid getting static electricity from the hands on the microcircuits. Otherwise, it will damage them, and after a while the computer may fail.