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.
Read more from Northeastern Global News.
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