What is Static electricity: Definition and 122 Discussions

Static electricity is an imbalance of electric charges within or on the surface of a material. The charge remains until it is able to move away by means of an electric current or electrical discharge. Static electricity is named in contrast with current electricity, which flows through wires or other conductors and transmits energy.A static electric charge can be created whenever two surfaces contact and have worn and separated, and at least one of the surfaces has a high resistance to electric current (and is therefore an electrical insulator). The effects of static electricity are familiar to most people because people can feel, hear, and even see the spark as the excess charge is neutralized when brought close to a large electrical conductor (for example, a path to ground), or a region with an excess charge of the opposite polarity (positive or negative). The familiar phenomenon of a static shock – more specifically, an electrostatic discharge – is caused by the neutralization of charge.

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  1. D

    Creating Static Electricity: Pocket Held Devices

    Hi. not being expert in this field, I have a question about static electricity. I have seen balloons stuck to hair by rubbing them. If I wanted to create a (pocket held) electronic devise to create that charge on the body, so a balloon can be attached without rubbing, how would it be done. And...
  2. K

    Static Electricity: Charging Objects with Friction, Induction, and Conduction

    1. Name three methods that could be used to charge an object. Friction, induction, and conduction, I assume... 2. A negatively charged rubber rod is momentarily touched to the knob of a neutral electroscope and then removed. A) What is the charge on the knob? Negative B) What is the...
  3. K

    Physics 30 - Static Electricity

    [SOLVED] Physics 30 - Static Electricity Imagine that you have an object with an unknown electrostatic charge. If you are given a rubber rod, fur, and a neutral electroscope, describe how you could find the type of charge on the object. My answer: By rubbing the rod on the fur, the fur will...
  4. L

    Static Electricity: Reduce Shock by Holding a Doorknob

    You rub your feet on the carpet in your warm living room on a cold winter day. You know you have gained static electrical charge on your body. You decide to touch your sister to shock her. Your sister knows that in order to reduce the electrical shock she will feel when you touch her, she...
  5. L

    Static Electricity: Reduce Shock by Holding a Doorknob

    You rub your feet on the carpet in your warm living room on a cold winter day. You know you have gained static electrical charge on your body. You decide to touch your sister to shock her. Your sister knows that in order to reduce the electrical shock she will feel when you touch her, she...
  6. F

    Static electricity and electrons

    Homework Statement Initially electron moves through a horizontal electric field that accelerates electron. Then electron enters a uniform electric field between two parallel plates. velocity of the electron is horizontal and it lies exactly on the middle line between the plates. This field...
  7. J

    Calculating Negative Charge in Nitrogen Gas: A Static Electricity Problem

    So, I'm in first year university physics and each week we have online quizzes. And I'm having trouble figuring out how I got this question wrong. Q: In what amount of nitrogen gas are 0.8 MCb of negative charge? Note: each nitrogen atom has 7 electrons. The answer they gave is 5.92 x...
  8. K

    Understanding Electron Transfer in Static Electricity: Material Influence

    Homework Statement When I rub an object against another object, will the electron transfer always be fixed? As in, the object from which the electrons flow will always be the same object or will the objects swap roles? Why? Homework Equations No equations required for answering this...
  9. A

    Calculating # of Electrons in a Ping-Pong Ball w/ Charge of 3.2x10-5C

    Homework Statement If a ping-pong ball has a charge of 3.2x10-5C, how many too many or to few electrons does it have Homework Equations # of electrons=charge/fundamental charge The Attempt at a Solution 3.2X10-5C/1.6X10-19= 2.0X1014 What do i do now, and i do not get what it...
  10. R

    How can static electricity shocks from treadmill be prevented?

    At the small gym I am working at there are about 12 treadmills. On some of them if you run for a few minutes and then touch the body of the treadmill you get a static electricity shocks. The machines are all properly grounded. At first, I thought the problem was that the body of the machine...
  11. wolram

    Can Static Electricity Penetrate a Faraday Cage?

    please forgive a not very scientific question, i am wondered if static electricity can penetrate a faraday cage, this has to do with ball lightning being seen in an aircraft.
  12. S

    Physics static electricity help

    hey all, i'm new to the forum...just finished up the momentum and energy unit and now were on to static electricity...i was hopin i could get a bit of help with a couple questions i have: 3. A negatively charged rubber rod is momentarily touched to the knob of a neutral electroscope and then...
  13. S

    Looking for some help with static electricity

    hey all, i'm new to the forum...just finished up the momentum and energy unit and now were on to static electricity...i was hopin i could get a bit of help with a couple questions i have: 3. A negatively charged rubber rod is momentarily touched to the knob of a neutral electroscope and then...
  14. M

    Static Electricity: Explaining the "Slide Shock

    Many times I have gone to the park, stuck my kid on the slide watched her slide down, hair sticking straight up, only to laugh at her and her to give me the "slide shock" as I give her a hand off the slide. Today however she asked me "why does the slide make my hair stick up", something in all...
  15. W

    Static electricity and method of seperating

    The figure below shows an electrostatic method of separating conducting and non-conducting spheres Why do the conducting spheres fall off from the roller while the non-conducting spheres have to be scrapped off? Thanks for the help. Cheers, Winston
  16. N

    Metal hair brush to reduce static electricity

    When I comb my hair a few hair stick up some times due to static electricity. I was wondering if I used a comb made of some highly conductive metal like copper, would I not get the static electricity in my hair? When I comb my hair with the plastic brush, isn't the reason that my hair gets...
  17. S

    QED & Static Electricity: Is There a Connection?

    so i was reading about QED, and it said that when 2 charged particles repelled each other, it was because of virtual photons. is it true then that static electricity is caused by virtual photons, or is it an entirely different force all toghether?
  18. C

    Explaining the Phenomenon of Static Electricity

    Tomorrow I have to do a demo in physics regarding static electricity. I am going to rub a comb against the inside of my sweatshirt and then attract tissue paper to it. I don't understand how to explain why this happens. Is the comb neutral at first, then when you rub it to the sweatshirt it...
  19. J

    Perminant Magnets and Static electricity

    Hello all. I have a couple of questions concerning static electricity, magnets, and dissimilar materials. My first question is can a permanent magnet moved past a dissimilar material be used to give it a static charge as if the magnet were a dissimilar material of opposite charge? My second...
  20. J

    Static electricity with spinning disks

    Hello, I am working on a project involving static electricity. I am trying to build a motor type device that can accumulate a static charge through two disks made of dissimilar materials (I’m still working out which two materials would be best) spinning past each other in close proximity. I’m...
  21. M

    Definition of Static electricity

    I have come up with the following definition of static electricity , which I hope is acceptable to all , if not I would be only too glad to hear any opinions. “Static electricity may be defined as the forces of attraction or repulsion felt between an imbalance of charges on isolated...
  22. M

    Static electricity and current electricity .

    The distinctions which are thought to exist between static electricity and current electricity are unfounded and , if subjected to a rational examination , patently absurd. Static electricity maybe described as an unequal distribution of charge (either excess positive or negative charge ) on a...
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