Tips For Avoiding Static Electricity Shocks During Winter
COS/ECE Assistant Professor Ivana Dimitrova explains how dry winter air causes static electricity that can result in sometimes painful shocks and offers tips to prevent them, like using a coin or key to touch a metal object.
This article originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Alena Kuzub. Main photo: Ivana Dimitrova posing in her lab, Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Are you tired of being zapped? These 10 tips can help you combat static electricity
Have you noticed that static electricity feels worse in winter? You reach for a door handle—zap!
Hang your coat on a metal hook—zap!
These small shocks can be both annoying and slightly painful. Static electricity is also why your hair might stand on end when you take off a hat or why your clothes cling to you and each other.
So, why does this happen, and how can we prevent the annoying zaps and static hair?
Most objects around us are neutral, explains Ivana Dimitrova, assistant professor of physics at Northeastern University. This is because their atoms contain an equal number of negatively charged electrons and positively charged protons.
However, when materials rub together, they exchange charges, Dimitrova says. Some lose electrons easily and become positively charged, while others, with more tightly bound electrons, gain extra electrons and become negatively charged.
“It depends on the material and how much this happens,” she says. “The result is materials with a slight excess of positive or negative charge.”
In the humid summer months, water molecules in the air redistribute these extra charges, helping to neutralize the materials.
“This works because water molecules have a positive and a negative pole, allowing them to carry charges away,” Dimitrova says. “Everything becomes nice and neutral again.”
In winter or dry climates, however, the air contains less moisture.
“There aren’t as many water molecules to redistribute the charges, so they build up,” she explains.
When we wear clothing or sit on a chair, constant friction builds up a charge. If we then get close to a conductor, like a metal object, electrons jump rapidly between us and the conductor, causing the zap.
“These zaps occur because there’s no natural way for the charges to discharge,” Dimitrova says.
We don’t always feel the buildup, but when it becomes noticeable, there are some ways to manage it.
Dimitrova’s general advice: Discharge yourself often by touching metal objects to avoid a big, painful shock.
Here are more of her tips:
Read full story at Northeastern Global News