Find out the science behind why it feels so good when you give your kitty a pet-induced rush of tingly sparks. At last, scientists have figured out why so much static builds up when we rub a cat in just the right way.
The Science of Sliding
Why does your cat give you a static shock when you pet her (or why do you feel that strange energy jolt when shuffling across carpet in socks)? As it stands, the solution involves sliding objects in a peculiar way.
The difference between those forces, experienced by the front and back parts of an object sliding across a slope, is what tips it over or stops it before reaching tipping point, researchers at Northwestern University say. These varying forces in different parts of the magnet create a rise of electric charge at front as well as the back which leads to electrical flow causing that stinging static ‘shock’.
This discovery is called by the study’s authors ‘elastic shear,’ and was reported in the journal Nano Letters. Friction and electrical charges A plate or a cat have something in common when resisting the sliding motion on another object it ends up generating two type of effects: friction effect (since it resists) and particulate energy storage (when rubbing against(embrace) an object surfaces, like a cloth). The researchers have now developed a novel model, which accurately determines the amount of electrical current generated in various cases of sliding and has thus managed to solve a mystery that has thwarted scientists over two millennia.
Conclusions: Where Static Electricity Is likely to Happen
Static electricity is not simply a side effect of petting your cat. And the truth is that its influence is a lot more extensive our own lives and for the world.
As the researchers note, static electricity can lead to significant problems — like industrial fires and explosions — as well as non-uniform powder flow in dosing powdered pharmaceuticals. Yet on the other hand, it is also involved in building planets and grinding our coffee beans every morning – breakfast not excluded – and, well, crazy things happen that will lead to how your hair ends up standing out after you go down the slide on your playground!
Lead author of the study, Laurence Marks, says the far-reaching power of static electricity is “static electricity shapes life in simple and profound ways.” How heavily our lives rest on it and how much of the universe rides upon its back.
Conclusion
The results of the study not only offer an answer to why petting our cats will often produce static electricity, but also elaborate mail on the wider implications of this widespread occurrence. A growing fundamental knowledge of static electricity may help researchers develop new ways to tackle the myriad practical problems it raises, from industrial safety to fabrication in pharmaceuticals. But at the same time, this research illustrates just how incredible that electricity can be: defining so much of our daily experiences and indeed, the nature of the universe.
