![]() This is why the effect is usually worse in winter - when the external temperature is lower, the saturated vapor pressure is lower as well. You can see some evidence of this in an earlier answer on a related topic. Not the relative humidity, but the absolute. The reason you get "shocked" more in winter has to do with the conductivity of the air - which in turn is largely determined by the absolute moisture content. In essence the two materials stick together briefly, and when they unstick the electrons may prefer to stay with one surface and not the other. ![]() Or, you could use a humidifier in your home, which adds water to the air, making static much harder to build up.Įvery time two dissimilar insulators rub together, there will be a relative buildup of charge due to the triboelectric effect. If you want to stop it, you could consider using dryer sheets, which use a substance which happens to be conductive to soften your clothes - this makes you constantly discharge as you touch your own clothes, so you achieve the "many tiny shocks" method alluded to above. Plastic or rubber rubbing against wool carpeting or clothes (or any sort of hair) will do it, which is the most common cause for people in their day-to-day lives. Since cold air is drier, this means you probably build up a charge more quickly in the winter.Īs for how you build up charge in the first place, it is usually by rubbing certain materials together. ![]() There are many ways to build up a static charge, but it is generally much, much easier when the air is dry. The only ways to prevent getting shocked are either not building up charge in the first place, or constantly touching metal so that the charges get released way before they can build up - in effect spreading out your shocks to many smaller shocks you can't feel. Wood won't uncharge you very well, since it doesn't conduct electricity very well. ![]() Since the metal conducts electricity very well, they fly off you very quickly which heats up the air in between you and the metal, giving you the painful "shock" feeling. When you touch a metal door (or any piece of metal) then the electrons want to spread out to balance themselves between you and the metal. Free or nearly-free electrons on stuff like wool are getting rubbed off onto you so that your body holds some sort of net total electric charge. ![]()
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