Static electricity is more complicated than you think

How does friction cause static electricity? And why does static electricity occur more in winter? And how can you stop static electricity? This video explains the chemistry and physics of static electricity with prevention tips and an important warning.

0:00 Introduction
0:30 Charge carriers
0:46 Triboelectric series
2:17 Four mechanisms of charge separation
4:19 Why winter?
5:11 Preventing static shocks

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Three Twentysix Project Leader: Dr Andrew Robertson
Assistant Editor: Purple Saptari
3D Animations: Es Hiranpakorn
Graphic Design: Maria Sucianto
Media: Diyon Weeratunga

This video was produced at Kyushu University and supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP21K02904. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Kyushu University, JSPS or MEXT.

[markotrieste]

Finally a decent explanation of why humidity is such an important parameter for this phenomenon. Thanks!

[bismuth]

One good way to prevent shocks when exiting your car is to place your hand on the metal panel as you come out, this way the charges will flow to the car when you're sliding off your seat !
Credits to PhysicsGirl for that one.

Great video once again, keep up the great work !

[LiborTinka]

I remember from school that rubbing fox tail on ebonite rod creates charge, demonstrated on an electrometer. Unfortunately, the teacer hasn't explained why, plus it got me even more perplexed for years: "Only these two specific materials do that? Why it happens? Does the heat of friction somehow converts to electricity? Is there physical or chemical change involved?" ... Your video explained a lot. I remember reading through "Triboelectric Effect" on Wikipedia, but I ended up having more questions then answers.
BTW you can make a video about how fabric softeners work (they also create - or maybe remove? - static charges) and why air-dried textlie is less soft than textile from a tumble dryer (the static charges are removed there by physical means I think).

[ogi]

Another excellent video. Thank you!
My dad, when he was a young engineer, helped to design a line producing plastic bottles. One part of such machines is a transport system for nurdles - small beads of plastic put into the extruder. And the best way is to transport that by pipes with air. Plastic beads moving in plastic pipes... Oh yes, REALLY nice voltage. Those pipes have grounding stripes allover, but it's impossible to remove all that charge, so you have to be careful... One day some guy from health and safety department wanted to make an inspection. And he just went under those pipes like it was a nice umbrella... He got shocked so hard, he just sat down where he was standing. I guess some people need a hard lesson to learn😅
My own experiences were not so spectacular. I guess i learned to be more careful earlier;)
I used to install pneumatic post systems (hospitals and big markets). Those pipes also had static electricity, but not as severe.

[BenjaminCronce]

For about half the the year, when I get out of my chair, I get zapped so hard by my chair that my wife's monitor 4' away loses signal for several seconds.

[rogerfroud]

The vacuum systems we used to have on our PCB routing machines used to build up huge charges if the wrong type of hoses were used. We had to use conductive plastic hoses that were earthed else you could get huge sparks that could jump 10mm or more. The problem seems to be that the fibreglass dust is extremely abrasive.
You'll also notice that Petrol tankers have Earthing wires that must be connected before commencing pumping for the same reason.

[manofcultura]

Another good way to think of static is to remember that the very notion of a physical object is simply the fact that electron shells around molecules repel each other. Without electro-negative repulsion, atoms and molecules would simply pass through each other.

This repulsion also causes molecules to sometimes exchange and trade outer shell electrons in a non chemical manner. This builds up the electro-static charge which eventually causes things as grand as lightning or as small as a spark from wearing socks on a rug.

[Tom-qoxu]

For years, both my dad and I were practically walking, talking, Tesla coils. Out of the family, it was only us. Couldn't touch any metal surface without a shock, and the point of discharge was often via the fingernails.
For years we would literally earth ourselves. It worked, as in we stopped getting zapped, but it meant we had to touch the ground before:
Opening doors (buildings and vehicles (entering vehicles was the problem, not exiting vehicles which was noticeably odd to us))
Each time we grabbed an item off a supermarket/store shelf.
Before touching computer screens, computer cases, laptops, TV's, ATM's, etc.

Bamboo socks ended up being the permanent solution to the problem.
In my case, because I broke my foot without realising (I had my toenails smashed off and just assumed that was the source of weeks of pain) so I'm now a 9 and a 9.5 in shoe size. My left foot will slide around inside any shoe because shoes are only sold in matching pairs. Well, shoes I can afford.

[ВасилийКоровин-гэ]

5:50 Don't just "touch", but hit (as you did in the video) to leave less time for the arc to develop. Or just touch it with something conductive, like a key, so that the arc will hurt it instead of your hand.

[frogz]

dunno why youtube JUST showed me this video but...
fun fact: you arnt feeling the electricity itself, you are feeling the little tiny spot where the shock burnt your skin/nerves
also, if you hold onto something conductive and touch the other object with the conductive object, the spark will hit the object rather than you, it can be anything from a piece of metal to some steak, you can use steak to discharge your body when excusing yourself from dinner!

[StixFerryMan]

I get strong shocks almost all year( I think it is when it is dry, dry summer, dry winter). And they are super strong. Will go through thick clothing. Can give of quite a loud crack, and even a bright, blue flash that can be seen in sunlight. And so strong that she regularly leave my finger, hand, where ever it hits, numb for some 10s of seconds. Once I even zapped another person who was leaning on the long metal kitchen bench, about 2 meters down. As I touched the bench, a very bright flash and the sound like someone breaking a thick stick. He screamed in shock and pain, limped around for about a minute or so with a numb butt cheek. Because he got the pain and numbing, I didn’t.

[RC-nqmg]

During winter in the dark at night when I was a child, I used to love pulling the bed covers over my head and rubbing my hair againts, and pulling it away and watching the miniature lightning storm that wad produced.

[bousbufats]

I love your videos, they are amazing, friendly and so educational. 👌😉

[purplesaptari]

The bit at 5:43 made me laugh 🤣 also this was so informative! i finally understand why i get more shocks in winter.

[khaliffoster]

So, the static electricity is depend on range of dual parallel different, the zero dual parallel different is exactly the same like shoes, both pair of shoe is same, so high dual parallel different is left is sneaker and right is boot, so when you have high two different to create an antibond which cause spark since it is so different, the higher the different, the higher the spark, so the metal cancel out since range of metal which is high or low, which is opposite of insulate, so it is a conductor, which means there is a hole so the spark will go out because it will seek the non-barrier, the non-exist, so a funnel path to go out, so like a water in a hole of glass that goes out, so the conductor is unstable, not stable as insulator since it is all close off, so the conductor is open, that means if you have metal so it will attach to other and hurt you,
if you have insulator it will not hurt you since it is a barrier, so it is seeking (the proverb like attract, unlike attract), seeking the attract as oppose to itself which is opposite of external, like metal to non-metal, so insulator is opposite of conductor, so, everything is about balance open / close, etc, so you say earth as cancel out the electricity so that means too many open to cause spark which is connect to dirty electricity since there is no close off like earthing so the earth is an insulator, so need a barrier, so dirty electricity is open, so has no barrier so it will attack you since within you there is an open that pull electricity to break apart something, so your dual parallel different within you is weaker than external, so always have a ground so the ground represent what is full and what is stable. So, ya can make video about conductor and insulator, so what make them and what make stable and how to create stable, so what create negative 1, 2, and so on which represent unstable, and positive 1, 2, which represent stable, so it is connect to atomic theory or so, ya make it, so even connect to conductor band, so how all work from beginning to end, all of it, the whole reality.

Be careful so ya will tell them to become a magician so to create a reality so not need government or so, so make it free, well, like a magician but science. Not rely on money but on material which you can create.

[DanteGabriel-lxbq]

Once, I got struck by such a static lightning force that I became the fastest man alive.
Then I woke up....

[damonsisk]

Better solution in winter: keep your finger on the side of a metal key, and touch the end of the key to the door knob or whatever usually shocks you. You will not feel it at all!

[fireballferret]

Maybe a knuckle hurts less than a fingertip, but I've found a trick that works even better.

Any metal object, e.g. a paperclip. Touch that to the grounded furniture and you can see the spark, but feel almost nothing at all.

[jamesmnguyen]

I used to get a static shock when leaving my car and touching the metal frame. So I learned to always maintain contact with the frame while getting out. This lets and static charge continuously equalize and no shocks are created.

[skun]

In the winter, I wear boots with rubber soles, and the doorhandles gives me the shock. I used to touch the walls, or the floor, before grabbing the handle. I'll try the knuckles-first trick.