We finally know the origin of static electricity: It only took thousands of years.

Who hasn’t played catch with a BIC pen by rubbing it against a wool sweater? Or who hasn’t attached a balloon to their head by rubbing it against their clothes to see how their hair sticks to it? A cat like the one on the cover of this article is worth it too. These are three of the most playful examples static electricityThis phenomenon has been known for thousands of years. However, until now it was not known how exactly it was produced.

It was clear that friction was necessary. You’ve seen it before. Tales of Miletus in 600 B.C., rubbing amber on his skin and watching it attract dust. Over time, it was concluded that it electric charge. That’s why it was called static electricity. But why did this accusation happen?

The answer came from a study that also took several years to develop. Although this time it didn’t take two millennia. It took five years to unravel the mystery of static electricity.

Keys to Eliminating Static Electricity

Over the past few centuries, many hypotheses have emerged about the origin of static electricity. However, they were based on assumptions that could not be proven experimentally. The first serious studies appeared in 2019, when a team of scientists managed to study it further.

These were researchers from Northwestern Universityfrom the USA, and decided to analyze the behavior of matter at the microscopic level. Although we see that the two rubbing surfaces are at first glance flat, at the microscopic level they have cones. WITH frictionThese protrusions deform, and this is where the electrical current starts. That’s all there was to the 2019 study.

Since then, these scientists have been conducting computer model is able to calculate electric currents generated in various circumstances at the level

microscopic. And that’s what gave them the answer to static electricity between two surfaces, also known as triboelectricity.

The Importance of Elastic Fit

To understand the origin of static electricity, it is important to understand a term known as elastic shear. This refers to the ability of materials to withstand sliding stresses. Because sliding occurs when rub two surfaces.

Using this new computer model, it was seen that when insulating surfaces rub against each other, the elastic stresses in the front of the body differ from the elastic stresses in the back. Later. Consequently, the charges and polarization on the front and back of the material are also different. As a result, an electric current is generated between these charges. Something similar to what happens between battery poles.

What is the purpose of understanding static electricity?

Static electricity isn’t just used to mess up our hair with a balloon. It has some really useful applications and at the same time, it’s also This may disrupt certain processes. Applications are concentrated mainly in the area electronics. But, at the same time, they can be dangerous when developing wind power plantsbecause static electricity can build up in turbines, causing them to malfunction. Moreover, in these devices, as in many others where friction occurs, static electricity can generate sparks that can cause a fire.

To prevent this from happening, it must be predicted, and to predict it correctly, it is important to know its origin. There are still many mysteries to be solved about static electricity, but at least one of the biggest ones has now been answered. Thales of Miletus planted a seed, but it took him two thousand years for it to grow.