Winter comes with a few nasty surprises, but nothing beats those irritating static electricity shocks when you touch certain surfaces.

Before we look at how to avoid it, let’s first understand what causes it.

All materials are made up of atoms, and atoms consist of protons that have a positive electrical charge, neutrons that do not have an electrical charge, and electrons that have a negative electrical charge. Our universe has an equal number of electrons and protons that try to stay in balance of equal numbers at all locations. When two materials come into contact with one another, an imbalance might occur, leaving an excess of protons in one material and an equal amount of electrons in the other.  If these charges are separated quicker than the material is able to dissipate them, an electrostatic charge might build up to a high enough voltage and Zap! you get some shock treatment.

Why do we only seem to get shocked during winter? The static charge build-up explained above is enhanced when the air is cold and dry. It’s never a case of whether static electricity is present or not, but rather a case of whether the voltage of the shock is high enough for you to notice it.

Now that you have some idea of how protons and electrons have their annoying fun with you, here are some suggestions to reduce the effects to a less noticeable level.

Click here to learn how to avoid static electricity shocks

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Source: https://www.electrostatics.net/