Where does static electricity come from

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

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

An atom usually has the same number of such pros and cons, so it has zero charge. But sometimes electrons leave 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 direct it through a wire or other conductor, you will get an electric current. You can clearly see its work when you charge your smartphone via cable.

It’s different with static electricity. It’s “lazy”, doesn’t flow and seems to be resting on the surface. An object has a positive charge if it lacks electrons and a negative charge when it is abundant.

How does static electricity occur?

1. Electric discharge

If you put on clean, dry wool socks and shuffle them across the nylon carpet, you can get an electrical shock.

During friction, electrons will jump from socks to carpet and vice versa. As a result, they’ll get the opposite charge and 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 again with your socks.

2. Attracting objects

If you comb your hair with a plastic comb, it will receive a static charge.

After that, it will start attracting small pieces of paper, trying to get rid of the shortage or excess of electrons at their expense.

3. Repulsion of objects

If you rub a piece of paper with a woolen scarf, it will get a static charge.

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

Why static electricity can 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 printing plants.

This plant has a lot of ink and paper that quickly catch fire. They rub against the equipment while printing, static electricity occurs, a spark appears and a fire starts.

2. Production irregularities

Businesses that produce plastics or textiles are particularly affected by static electricity.

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

This disrupts the production process, so enterprises use air ionizers to help prevent charges.

3. Lightning strike

When air currents that are saturated with water vapor move, static electricity occurs.

It creates thunderclouds with different charges that discharge against each other or against the ozone layer. This is how lightning is made.

Lightning strikes tall buildings, trees and the ground and causes equipment to break down.

How to avoid static electricity

1. Increase 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, do wet cleaning regularly and use humidifiers.

When the heating is on, you can put a wet cloth on the battery so that the water evaporates and makes the air less dry.

2. Use natural materials

Most natural materials retain moisture, synthetic ones do not. Therefore, the former are less susceptible to static electricity.

If you comb your hair with a plastic comb, they will get a static charge and start flying apart, ruining your hair. This can be avoided by using wooden 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 clothes made from other natural fabrics do not create static electricity. An artificial sweater is the opposite.

3. Use grounding

It can be used to divert static electricity into the ground. This applies not only to lightning rods, which redirect lightning charges, but also to working with electrical equipment.

When a professional craftsman opens the laptop to clean it from dust, he always uses a special ground cord attached to his hand — an antistatic bracelet.

Anti-static wristband/ aliexpress.com

It is needed to prevent a discharge of static electricity from hand to the chips. Otherwise, it will damage them, and after a while the computer may fail.

Source: https://lifehacker.ru/staticheskoe-elektrichestvo/

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