Perhaps, there is no person on the planet who, in one way or another, has not encountered the manifestation of static electricity in ordinary life: its source can be a woolen sweater, a TV, and even a plastic comb, combing which the hair literally stands on end. However, is there a scientific explanation for such an unusual process and can it be used with benefit in everyday life?
What is static electricity?
The existence of electricity was known several thousand years ago, when the ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Thales of Miletus was the first who was able to describe in detail the manifestations of a static charge. However, only modern researchers working at the nanoscale have made a huge step forward in their search for understanding why friction of two surfaces against each other can lead to the emergence of a current.
Regardless of how smooth a surface may look, with a certain approximation, even the smoothest structure can show bumps and roughness. Every surface, from balloons to fibers such as wool or hair, is covered in microscopic pits, which are responsible for the generation of static electricity. Christopher Mizzi, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering at Northwestern Illinois University, argues that absolutely everything in the universe can be compared to our planet, which, although it looks like a perfectly smooth blue ball from space, is in fact a place of extremely diverse landscape.
According to an article published on livescience.com, it is the presence of roughness, elements of the “landscape” of the material, coupled with their active interaction with each other, that creates the very type of energy during friction, which in official science is called triboelectricity.
Static electricity is one of the most common types of energy in nature.
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One of the more unusual qualities of static electricity is its ease of production using electricity-limiting materials known to mankind as insulators. The most common insulators on Earth are rubber, wool, and hair, which prevents charged electrons from moving on, but suppresses them. However, static electricity also occurs when the sharpness in insulators rub against each other, interfering with the electron clouds. Since electrons in insulators cannot move easily, this friction can distort the electron clouds, deforming them into an asymmetric shape. So, under some circumstances, the resulting shape of the electron cloud can distribute the stress unevenly over the entire surface of the material. In everyday life, this phenomenon can clearly manifest itself if you decide to walk on the carpet in woolen socks. The friction of the materials in this case will cause the roughness on both active surfaces to bend, deforming the electron clouds and causing a slight difference in tension, which may appear just when you touch a doorknob or another person.
The study authors believe that this newfound understanding of how static electricity works could help develop a new kind of useful tissue that can produce frictional energy to recharge mobile devices and other small equipment. In addition, it is static electricity that can help us create safe working environments with better elimination of fires due to the presence of fine dust in the premises.
Daria Eletskaya