National Static Electricity Day
Make your hair stand on end with a balloon on #NationalStaticElectricityDay
9 January is National Static Electricity Day, which might come as quite a shock to some people.
Static electricity is different from the electrical current that is carried through a building by wires, because it is produced when the positive and negative charges of an atom are out of balance.
Some materials, like plastic, cloth or glass, are insulators and hold their electrons tightly. Other materials like metals are called conductors and their electrons move more freely. When two insulators – say cloth –are rubbed together, electrons are transferred, causing a positive and negative charge.
This is evident when a balloon is rubbed against someone’s head and the hair clings to the balloon. When the balloon is removed, the hair stands on end. When this happens the hair and the balloon have the same charge (which can either be negative or positive), causing the items to repel each other. This is called static electricity. When the charges are put back into balance, the static electricity is discharged. This happens when an insulator comes into contact with a conductor (which can be a piece of metal).
Follow these steps to avoid being shocked by static electricity:
– The drier air during the winter months is a better insulator than the summer’s humid air. To help prevent static electricity during the winter months, use a humidifier in your home to replace the moisture in the air.
– It is recommended to apply a moisturiser to your skin before getting dressed during winter.
– Wearing fabrics made from natural fibres such as cotton will help reduce the amount of static electricity, as synthetic fabrics are better insulators.
– Hold a key or metal pen in your hand while walking around the house, at work or when shopping. By doing this, the buildup of static electricity will be discharged painlessly.
– The amount of static electricity that is being built up, will be reduced by wearing shoes with leather soles as opposed to rubber ones.
Post on social media using #NationalStaticElectricityDay.
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