Static Cling - why is its effect permanent ?

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter ramonegumpert
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Static
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the phenomenon of static cling, specifically why static cling products like decals maintain their static effects over time despite the potential for grounding and neutralization of static charges. The scope includes conceptual exploration of static charge behavior in materials.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that the permanence of static cling may be due to the decal being a poor conductor, which prevents effective grounding and allows electrons to accumulate near the surface, creating an attractive force.
  • Another participant reiterates the same point about poor conductivity and the behavior of electrons, framing it as an educated guess.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants have not reached a consensus; multiple viewpoints regarding the mechanisms of static cling are presented, but the discussion remains open-ended without definitive conclusions.

Contextual Notes

The discussion does not address specific assumptions about the materials involved or the conditions under which static cling operates, leaving some aspects unresolved.

ramonegumpert
Messages
187
Reaction score
0
Hi,

I did some search on Static Cling products like decals .
They work using a static charge concept.
But static charge can easily be grounded and cause the charges to be neutralized.
So, why is it that static cling products do not lose their static effects?
Any ideas?

Thanks for reading.

regards
Ramone
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I think it has something to do with the decal being a particularly poor conductor. So poor that you can't effectively ground it.
The electrons are not free to move around through the material, but they are free to crowd near the surface - enough to provide an attraction.

This is naught but an educated guess.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: ramonegumpert
DaveC426913 said:
I think it has something to do with the decal being a particularly poor conductor. So poor that you can't effectively ground it.
The electrons are not free to move around through the material, but they are free to crowd near the surface - enough to provide an attraction.

This is naught but an educated guess.

Thank you sir.

Glad to see that my question has merit. Its not a simple question after all :)
Hope to hear more responses.
Physics is fun!
 
*bump*
 

Similar threads

Continuously positive static charged vessel?
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
1K
Graduate Origins of magnetic fields from permanent static magnets versus current
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
3K
Grounding out static charge using a battery.
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Undergrad Speed of magnetic flux propagation?
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Elevated Geiger Counter Radiation Reading for Envelope?
  • · Replies 26 ·
Replies
26
Views
3K
High School History of Cosmology: 1915-1929 | Einstein, Hubble & GR
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
3K
Undergrad Antimatter-matter annihilation: significance of opposite charge
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
4K
Graduate Fluid mechanics in a water container, reference from Feynman
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
3K
Undergrad Wire loop in a static homogeneous field question
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
High School Can high voltage static electricity cause a shock through a power cord?
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K