All Questions
Tagged with everyday-life electrostatics
38
questions
3
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2
answers
102
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Static Shock and Cell Phone
Please be kind - have probably a silly question about static electricit, the type when you walk across a carpet and touch something and you get a spark/shock on your finger.
Hoping someone here can ...
- 31
-1
votes
1
answer
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How do pencil erasers erase on a fundamental level?
One could say we're taking advantage of friction, but I want to dig deeper down to atomic level: what's the process or chain that happens when one erases?
Edit: subatomic -> atomic
- 9
1
vote
1
answer
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In depth answer: Why do I see sparks when I remove synthetic clothes off my body?
I have combed through various sources on the internet and I don't have a definitive answer for the above question:
The best that I can come think is the following:
Because when I remove synthetic ...
- 131
6
votes
1
answer
318
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Why do dry lentils cluster around air bubbles?
When I pour dry lentils into a water bowl, I notice many of them form little clusters, with an air bubble in the center.
Why does this happen? I'm guessing something about static electricity. But not ...
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1
answer
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If a person hanging on a live wire of 440 V in air with no contact with ground, will he get a shock why or why not? [closed]
my sir told me that he will get a shock, but why not bird then
he replied bird has legs acting as insulators
i am in confusion what is the right explanation to this
1
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0
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114
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How am I feeling the static electricity from my tennis racket?
After a lesson/hit, static electricity will often build up on my racket's strings from the repeated friction with the tennis balls. Sometimes, it will be strong enough that when I put the strings near ...
2
votes
1
answer
99
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Reason of sudden electric shocks? [closed]
A friend of mine regularly gets electric shocks. This happens sometimes when he touches water, his laptop, a chair, metals, people. What may be the reason that he gets electric shocks so often? And ...
- 1,440
3
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5
answers
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Why does a comb rubbed through hair not attract paper if it's been left alone for some time?
In childhood we did an activity with a comb and paper pieces to understand electrostatic force. I noticed that after rubbing the comb in hair it attracts paper pieces very well, but when trying again ...
user313211
0
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2
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108
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Do pollen grains really act like a dipole?
Yesterday I was solving some electric field from resnik book and one of the solutions assumed a bee to be a sphere of charge $60 \;\text{pC}$ and the grain which sticks to it as a dipole due to ...
- 153
4
votes
3
answers
504
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How come the filled water bottle work as a stylus for phone but not the empty bottle?
Take an empty plastic bottle, and make it slide on a mobile screen. You would find that it's not doing anything. Now filled up this bottle with water and try doing the same. This time you will find ...
- 11.9k
1
vote
2
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308
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Attraction between comb and paper bits
It is a common phenomenon that a comb, when rubbed against dry hair, gains electric charge and attracts paper bits. My question is that if the comb induces an opposite electric charge on the nearer ...
2
votes
2
answers
238
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Did I make an electric circuit with my cat?
This is definitely the dumbest question I've asked, but I'm curious. My cat was resting her head on my left hand while I pet her with my right. Suddenly, my left hand began receiving regular static ...
- 749
7
votes
3
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346
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Why do clothes produce sounds after being in front of a computer for a long time?
Quite often, after sitting in front of the computer not moving a whole lot for a long time my upper body clothes (usually sweaters) make soft crackling sounds when moving or specially when taking them ...
- 171
1
vote
1
answer
118
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Why can't I scotchtape ice?
I am thinking that the electrostatic force (Van der Waals force) should take effect when I try to tape an ice, but the tape slips. Why does this happen?
- 13k
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1
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Why do I often get electric shocks from escalators and how to avoid this?
When I wear at least one cotton clothe and using escalators in different buildings containing escalators,
I often get electrical currents in first touch of the relevant escalator,
but right afterwards ...
user155243