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Static Electricity
Why Does Static Charge Build Up?
John Staughton
Have you ever shuffled around a
carpet floor in warm woolen socks, and felt energy start to tingle at the end
of your fingertips?
Of course, you have; you’ve
probably also tapped a friend and laughed at how much they jump when you shock
them.
If you have a lot of energy built
up, you may even see a spark!
However, what is this energy
that we seem to get at random times, providing us with the temporary power of
Thor or Zeus himself?
Although the name isn’t as
impressive as you might expect, static electricity is a part of every
single day, so you should at least know what it is!
The Secret Power of Atoms
Static electricity is based on
the fact that surfaces can hold an electric charge.
However, static electricity is
a type of potential energy that is created when the positive and negative
charges on a surface are not balanced.
However, you need to understand
the basics of positive and negative charge before we get too much deeper into
this topic.
All matter is composed of
atoms, and most atoms have a neutral charge, as the protons and electrons
cancel one another out in terms of charge.
However, electrons are also
highly mobile, and can be transferred between atoms quite easily, in some
cases.
Now, when two materials with a
neutral charge come in contact, some of the electrons may move from one surface
to another, thereby creating an imbalance in the charge – and an accumulation
of potential energy.
This charge imbalance is static
electricity, and it can accumulate on many different types of surfaces.
Imagine the last time you got
out of your car (one that has a fabric interior) and slid your butt off the
seat. Those two surfaces (your pants and the fabric seat) likely exchanged some
electrons, and you may be able to feel the strange imbalance of energy – a
tingling in your fingertips, perhaps?
Striking a Balance
Although nature seems pretty
chaotic most of the time, it is always seeking some sort of balance.
Therefore, when there is an
imbalance in positive and negative charge in something packed with static
electricity, it seeks out any way to re-balance or neutralize.
When you ground yourself – by
touching someone else, or some other object that conducts electricity, the
static charge build up in your body will be transferred.
The cool thing about static
electricity is that this transfer can be felt (and sometimes even seen, in the
form of a spark), but unlike most other times an electric charge passes through
your body (lightning strike, electrocution etc.), static energy is rather
harmless.
Basically, it is just nature
trying to balance itself out – electric conductors seeking out electrons!
Similarly, when you rub a
balloon on your hair, there is a transfer of static electricity, which is why
that balloon will now stick to many other surfaces, and be attracted to your
head! It is the natural attraction of positive and negative that brings the
surfaces together – endlessly seeking a neutral charge, so the two surfaces
stick together!
Why the Rubbing?
It seems like building up
static electricity is always connected to rubbing of some kind, which seems a
bit strange.
Can we really affect things on
the atomic level by rubbing two objects together? No, in fact rubbing is not
the trick to building up static electricity.
Contact between the two
surfaces is all that is necessary; however, rubbing things provides thousands
of unique positions of contact every few seconds, which greatly increases the
chances of electrons swapping between the surfaces.
If you simply touch a balloon
to your head over and over again, it would take ages to build up much energy.
However, when you rub the
balloon against your head, you build up static electricity very quickly.
Weakly bound electrons are easy
to steal, and materials with empty outer shells are happy to nab those
electrons and create an imbalanced charge.
This is called the
triboelectric effect. There is actually a large list ranging from extremely
positively charged to extremely negatively charged materials.
Researchers, scientists,
engineers, and dozens of other professions have used this list to either
utilize or avoid the potential energy of static electricity.
Materials close together on the
list are similar in charge, so it can be difficult for the electron swap to
occur enough for static electricity to be generated.
Imagine rubbing a piece of
silver with a piece of gold… not much static electricity build up, right?
The Dangers of Static Power!
Although any amount of energy
can be dangerous or useful, depending on its application, static electricity is
usually generated in such small amounts that it poses no danger.
However, there are a few risks
that you should always remember. If you are near flammable liquids or gases
when you build up static electricity, a spark could ignite those materials and
cause a massive explosion.
For example, if you are near
highly concentrated oxygen, static electricity can be deadly, as pure oxygen is
highly reactive and explosive.
For individuals, these
situations usually aren’t a problem, but in other applications (industrial,
manufacturing, engineering), materials must be carefully chosen so as to not
cause an unwanted build up of static electricity.
You never know what a spark in
the wrong place could cause!
Now that you understand a bit
more of the science behind static electricity, perhaps you’ll think twice
before scuffing along the carpet and sneaking up on your little sister to give
her a shock that she’ll never forget!
Static electricity is pretty
cool, but with great power comes great responsibility. Use your potential
energy wisely!
John Staughton is
a traveling writer, editor and publisher who earned his English and Integrative
Biology degrees from the University of Illinois in Champaign, Urbana. He is the
co-founder of a literary journal, Sheriff Nottingham, and calls the most
beautiful places in the world his office. On a perpetual journey towards the
idea of home, he uses words to educate, inspire, uplift and evolve.
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