Although until now, many people have known that the cause of the squeaking sound when you stretch your clothes in the winter is caused by static electricity , but few people know about the factors that make this phenomenon often happen. occurs most often in winter. In this article, we will go to find out what that element is?
There are many reasons why you don’t like winter at all, but perhaps, the most annoying lies in the fact that you often encounter small electric shocks that cause numbness . That’s because static electricity occurs due to an electrical charge that builds up on the surface of an object.
According to Wikipedia, static electricity is an imbalance of electrical charges on the surface of a material. The charge will be stored there until it can be transferred elsewhere through an electric current or discharge. An electrostatic charge is created when two surfaces come into contact and then separate, and at least one of the surfaces has a high resistivity.
An electrostatic charge is created when two surfaces come into contact and then separate, and at least one of the surfaces has a high resistivity.
Static electricity is the accumulation of electric charge. To understand static electricity, we need to understand the nature of matter. Matter is made up of atoms, with three smaller particles. It is the electron with a negative charge. Protons carry a positive charge. Finally, neutrons have no charge.
Normally, electrons and protons are always in balance in an atom. That’s why everything is electrically neutral.
But electrons are very small, with negligible weight. Rubbing or friction can energize electrons, allowing them to separate from atoms. It then attacks other atoms, moving between different surfaces.
When this happens, the first remaining object has more protons than electrons and will carry a positive charge. According to Ted-ED, objects with lots of new electrons will have a negative charge. This phenomenon is known as charge imbalance or charge separation.
However, nature always tends to balance, so when two objects with opposite charges meet, the free electrons will take the first chance to move where they are needed most, or jump out of the object. negative charge or spill over into a positively charged object. This action is an attempt to restore neutral charge equilibrium.
This rapid displacement is known as electrostatic discharge and is characterized by a passing spark. This process doesn’t happen to everything, or you’ll always get an electric shock.
Conductors like metals or salt water have weak electron bonds, but they jump easily between molecules. On the other hand, insulators such as plastic, rubber, glass, have tighter electron bonds so they are not easy to jump to other atoms.
Electrical buildup usually occurs when the object involved is an insulator. For example, you walk on a carpet, the electrons on your body will rub against the surface. The insulating wool rug will resist losing its own electrons. Your body with the mat is still electrically neutral but there is already a polarized charge between the two. And when you touch the doorknob there’s a “smack” – the metal from the handle has passed weakly bound electrons through your hand to replace the amount your body lost.
Master Nguyen Viet Dung, Director of the Center for Biomedical Electronics, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, said that in many cases of static electricity such as flashes of light like a mosquito net, there are also cases of electricity transmission to the feet and floors. slight body numbness.
Hair is the most prone to static electricity. (Image: Getty).
According to Accuweather, Stevespanlerscience, hair is an easy place to generate static electricity, standing up when the weather is dry. The reason is that hair has a structure like nails, so when damaged, hair is not able to maintain moisture and repair itself. Therefore, when the moisture of the hair is lost due to dry conditions, it will make them easy to generate static electricity or friction with combs, woolen clothes …
The electric current caused by the electrostatic process creates a very weak electric field, which does not affect the body or human health. However, this static electricity can become terrifying, destroying nature. Under certain conditions, electrostatic distribution occurs with clouds.
An imbalance of charge that is neutralized when transmitted to another object such as a building, the ground or clouds will form a large flash of light, also known as lightning. Just as your finger can be jerked several times at one point, lightning can strike the same spot multiple times.
The main cause of static electricity is moisture in the air.
The phenomenon of static electricity occurs most strongly in winter due to a very simple cause, which is moisture in the air .
Water is a good conductor of electricity, moisture is what helps move electrons out of the human body before they accumulate too much in the body, and then causes static electricity to create a feeling of numbness. human. However, electrostatic dispersal usually occurs in the form of small chirping noises and is difficult to detect.
There are many ways to reduce this situation, but the simplest, you stick to the very factors that contribute to the electrostatic phenomenon becoming more negative. You should put a humidifier in your home in the winter . Thanks to humidity, static electricity is almost impossible at least when you’re indoors.
Also, avoid walking or wearing items made of wool, leather and rubber on your feet . These are fairly strong insulators, which leads to the retention of static electricity. As more and more electrical charge is retained on the body, we are more likely to experience electric shock when touching conductive objects such as metal.
Place a humidifier in your home to avoid static electricity.
Therefore, carrying a metal keychain will help you eliminate the energy that has been accumulated before. Or you should also change clothes using synthetic fibers (polyester, nynon) to natural fibers like cotton. This is the material that causes the least amount of static electricity.
For shoes, many findings show that shoes with leather soles are better at reducing static electricity than shoes with rubber soles. If possible, walk barefoot on the floor.
Another trick is that you can bring along sheets of Dryer sheets. This is a paper like tissue paper but thinner, they are often used in drying clothes to bring scent, softness to the fabric, … According to Howstuffwork, use Dryer Sheet paper while drying pants. Clothes can help balance electrons in clothes, prevent electrons from attaching to your body, thereby helping to reduce the formation of static electricity on the surface of the body and clothes. It is also important to shake out freshly dried clothes immediately to prevent electrical charge from being stored in the clothes.
Many people also use the Dryer Sheet to remove difficult-to-clean food stains thanks to its ability to weaken the bond between dirt by static electricity.
If possible, take care of your skin to always keep the appropriate moisture.
If possible, take care of your skin to always keep the appropriate moisture. The most common way is to use lotions or specialized moisturizing cosmetics.
Another winter is coming, if you don’t want to suddenly encounter unexpected electric shock phenomena, try applying the above sharing.