Static electricity Definition and 123 Threads

If I rub my socks around on the carpet, then touch the end of my unplugged laptop charger, and get a spark, why doesn't the breaker pop?

Hi, I'm an automotive technician. I have trouble understanding a couple basic electrical concepts. The problem is that I am more or less taught that current flows through CIRCUITs. When analyzing electrical problems, I think current will only flow if there is a voltage (potential...

MIT has a Physics Demo called "Rubber and Glass Rods with Tinsel and Balloon" (Not sure if I can post links but easily found on youtube). I have watched the video several times but am a bit puzzled. First the lab technician charges the rod by friction but then when he moves it close to the...

Homework Statement When you rub a gold sphere with rabbit's fur, the gold takes on a negative charge (and the rabbit fur positive). Suppose the gold sphere has a mass of 190.0 g and it obtains a net charge of 0.540 μC. Calculate the ratio of the number of electrons added to the gold sphere to...

I was wondering if and/or how one would could calculate the the generation of static electricity between 2 materials. For example material A is immersed in substance B and moves within it at a constant velocity. Knowing the velocity and volume / surface area of material A and the electron...

Is there a simple way to "make" static electricity from an AC outlet? Looking for a way to make my hair stand (what is left of it) on its end for an experiment. Thanks for your comments in advance.

Hello all, I watched a youtube video where you can rub a plastic tube on your hair, and the static electricity generated will pull a stream of water falling from a faucet. My question is, how would this be possible to do electrically? Meaning, using electricity or a battery powered...

Hi I have seen electric technicians while racking out high tension circuit breakers, use a wire that has one end grounded and they use the other end to touch the bus bars on the breaker in case of a static charger, they carry out this procedure before they do any work on the CB in case they...

Hi all, Let us say I have rubbed cat fur with nylon. Is there any relation for determining the amount of charge (in Coulombs) induced on either of the materials? Thanks in advance.

So, I don't want to disclose why I want to know about this because its to do with a friends invention and it would be unfair to publish too much information without his consent. That's my disclosure so to speak. I'm interested in how static electricity is managed in vehicles. I remember...

Homework Statement Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution i chose positive and negative but i am not sure.

Is it possible to use an electrical current (from mains electricity) to create static electricity on a conductive surface (that is not earthed) without the two coming into direct contact? See attached image.

Layden jar questions? :) And some static electricity questions.?? Hello. I'm making a layden jar and i am kinda changing some details in it. and i want to ask if those will affect anything in the performance and if it's shocks can be lethal.. http://postimage.org/image/s9xqthylt/...

I'm trying to understand why static discharge (or just plain high voltage) damages semiconductors, in particular integrated circuits. What happens when a chip gets hit by a voltage spike that it can't handle?

What does static mean ? Why is a positive charge attracted to a negative charge ? What makes them attractive ?

I was just wondering how static electricity has a high voltage. Is it because of the difference of charge between the two objects e.g you and the ground? Or is it due to the electric field which surrounds an static charged object, so the electric field cause ions to build in the air allowing...

Homework Statement Suppose you have two isolated conducting spheres that are both neutral. You move 2mC of charge from one to the other. a. What is the charge now on each sphere? My solution: One sphere is positively charged with 2mC more protons, while the other is negatively charged with...

Hello all, I am an engineering student currently undertaking a project at univeristy. It involves the sorting of 4 different balls of which I have deduced how to sort 2 of them leaving just 2 types of balls to sort... The remaining two are of identical size, 10mm in radius, and are...

Homework Statement Two points charges A(+10. uC) and b(+40.0 uC) are placed .2 m apart forming line ab. Calculate the force experienced by a point charge C(+10.0 uC) placed on line Ab, .06 m from A Homework Equations F=kq1q2/d^2 The Attempt at a Solution First I tried making a diagram...

Homework Statement What should happen to the electrons in a insulated metal object when a negatively charged plastic rod is brought near the insulated metal The Attempt at a Solution I thought the electrons will repel each other and the insulated object will move away from the rod...

Homework Statement I have a few problems that I found in my review package that I just couldn't figure out. I've been trying all day as I'm used to the normal F=kqq/r^2. These are higher levelled problems, but my prof says that they will be on the midterm which is coming up next week. If...

Hey guys, Most physics or introductory electronics books that I have read begin the topic of electricity by introducing static electricity. The books introduce static electricity by either talking about the amber and the wool experiment or the glass rod and the silk cloth. My question is...

You probably know how to bend water: Use a comb and rub it with wool (or just comb your hair) and hold it next to thin jet of water coming out of a tap. Here is a video: Comb with wool An explanation is offered here (the water molecule is polar). However, I remember my physics teacher...

Homework Statement " The result of an imbalance of this "fluid" (electrons) between objects is called static electricity. It is called "static" because the displaced electrons tend to remain stationary after being moved from one insulating material to another." Homework Equations...

I have a problem that is costing me lots of $'s. I built a pole barn seven years ago that is about 50 feet from my house and garage. I am on my third garage door opener due to logic boards being destroyed by static electricity. I have had a second electrician check out my wiring and he says...

Why doesn't static electricity cause ionic bonding,since some atoms become positively charged and others are negatively charged ?

Scenario: If a human body is fully charged with positive electrons (protons/lack of electrons) and comes in contact with a pool of positive electrons such as a charged plate, the charge stays the same in the human body and the plate. Now if the human comes in contact with a source of negative...

I think I remember reading somewhere that almost every moment of our lives we are surrounded by thousands of volts of ambient static electricity caused by the movement of air and clouds, it's just that we don't notice it. I may have mixed up my information so I'm just asking for clarification...

http://www.nuenergy.org/pdf/static-electricity-converter.pdf

Hello, I am preparing a material about static electricity, and it's basically finished. However, I have a question what puzzles me. I hope people in this forum can fill that in. So, the core process is that electrons hate to float in the insulators, so they hang on the surface of those...

How is static electricity charge distributed over the human body if skin (1100 - 496,000 ohms) is a good insulator? For example, if one wears rubber-soled shoes and walks around on a rug, the shoes will obtain a negative charge. Then, if one touches a doorknob or some other metal object, a spark...

Homework Statement How would static electricity on your clothes or on your body affect an experiment involving charged objects? Homework Equations Coulomb's Law The Attempt at a Solution The static electricity would attract the objects due to the like charges, assuming the objects...

Static electricity in outer space? Somewhere I read that a space vehicle traveling in outer space picks up a static electricity charge. Is this true and if it is true, where does that static electric charge come from?

From the attached photograph I have a continuing problem with what I would describe as “static electricity”. Shocks are being received from the rail system and also the aluminimum framing supporting the electrically operated window shutters. As indicated, the deck is a proprietary plastic...

Maybe this should be posted in biology but it seems more like an electricity question to me: I've read that static electricity increases in the cold because of lower relative humidity. This seems to mean that it is more difficult for things to dissipate/ground their electric charge to the...

I've been reading about static electricity, and I'm starting to get a handle on how it works. I have a big question; static electricity always seems to make things stick and what not, but is there such thing as static electricity repulsing?

Homework Statement 1. Rod A has negative charge and is used to induct rod B. Rod C then charged by touching it with B. The charge on C is… a. Neutral b. Positive c. Negative d. Undetermined2. a. Plastic comb that we hold can be charged by rubbing. Why a copper can’t be charged when we are...

Homework Statement 1.a ball is attracted to both positive and negative charge. state whether the ball has negative, positive, or no charge 2.why does electroscope use gold for the "leaf"?can others metal be used? 3.http://www.sciencebyjones.com/induction.gif i do not understand that...

Homework Statement I was just wondering if someone could help explain this problem I've been having. A lot of textbooks I've been studying from are describing how two insulators can become charged, but then don't mention whether an insulator can be earthed - it only mentions "charged...

I was out in the shop earlier, and came back inside the house, noticed my watch fast a few hours. Did a search to find out what kinds of things cause this, and found that it was probably the magnets/electrical fields from the power tools I was using. Also came across a lot of people...

Hello. I'm interested intaking a cloud formed of activated carbon particles and particulates of some other substance to produce static electricity similar to that formed in a cumulonimbus cloud. The means of containing this experiment is another matter. I understand that when "opposite...

I've never understood this, but none of the people that I thought would know could think of a reason, either. It's probably just some simple detail that I've overlooked, but I'm stumped. So... I've always been taught that "lightning is a gigantic spark of static electricity", but I've also...

Homework Statement https://www.physicsforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=21003&stc=1&d=1255013927 I need help for number 11(b), (d) The Attempt at a Solution (b)(i) Electrons move towards the right since like charges repel. (ii) Unlike Charges attract. Thus, positive...

Why is it that someone who discharges static electricity feels a sting but the person who is receiving the static electricity doesn't feel anything? Thanks

Hi all, If I take a battery (lets assume a car battery) and connect the +ve end to Earth Ground and leave the -ve end floating. Why is there no charge transfer from the battery to ground? I've read up on a variety of threads regarding this question on this forum. Haven't quite found my...

Hello All, There is this machine that allows one to dropped glitter onto multiple plastic objects and the glitter cling / stuck onto the plastic while excess fell through a wire grid that the objects were sitting on. The glitter then would be sucked up by a vacuum and re-dropped onto the...

Hi Please excuse my poor electricity knowledge.. also if this is in the wrong place to post, let me know and I'll move Someone raised this simple thought experiment with me and I want to understand better: If you will, imagine a series of balls inside balls (ie multiple layers - for...

Homework Statement Three positive particles of charges 9.0\muC are located at the corners of an equilateral triangle with .15m sides. Calculate the magnitude and direction of the force on each particle. Homework Equations F=Kq1q2/d2 The Attempt at a Solution In class we haven't...

Homework Statement Particles of charge +70, +48, and -80 \muC are placed in a line, in the previous order. The center one is .35 m from each of the others. Calculate the net force on each charge due to the other two. Homework Equations F=kq1q2/ d2 The Attempt at a Solution I...

Homework Statement Imagine that space invaders could deposit extra electrons in equal amounts on the Earth and on your car, which has a mass of 1200kg. Note that the rubber tires would provide some insulation. How much charge Q would need to be placed on your car (same amount on earth) in...