Static electricity is so commonplace that it can come across as simple. Other teams are investigating how surface area and velocity during impact might govern charge transfer, and how the breaking ...

There’s a shocking lack of understanding of the physics underlying this commonplace phenomenon, but researchers are on the ...

When microscopic particles of sand, ash, or dust collide in the air, they often exchange a tiny electrical charge. This tiny ...

Static electricity was first observed in 600 BC, but researchers have struggled to explain how it is caused by rubbing. With a better understanding of the mechanisms at play, researchers potentially ...

Caterpillars respond defensively to electric fields similar to those emitted by their natural predators, scientists have found. Caterpillars respond defensively to electric fields similar to those ...

Incredibly, for the first time, scientists have unraveled the mechanisms at play when rubbing a surface creates an electrical current, something that was first recorded in 600 BCE yet not fully ...

A strictly esque large metal ball with a handle that you turn to generate static electricity. Pop your hands on the ball, and ...

Many people are familiar with the experience: grabbing their favorite blanket and gotting shocked. Static electricity may not be too dangerous, but it is uncomfortable and annoying. So, why is there ...

The imbalance of charges that takes place with this fun phenomenon typically happens when two different materials come into contact and then are separated. In the experience, one of the materials may ...

Niusha Shafiabady does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...