Static electricity is a ubiquitous part of everyday life. It's all around us, sometimes funny and obvious, as when it makes your hair stand on end, sometimes hidden and useful, as when harnessed by ...

The first documentation of static electricity dates back to 600 BCE. Even after 2,600 years’ worth of tiny shocks, however, researchers couldn’t fully explain how rubbing two objects together causes ...

Ancient Greeks discovered that when animal fur and amber were rubbed together, the fur could be used to attract feathers, glass dust and other lightweight objects. It wasn’t until 1600 AD, however, ...

Scientists at Northwestern University may have figured out why walking on carpet in your socks, petting your furry friend, or rubbing a balloon on your hair creates static electricity. In a new study, ...

Scientists have finally figured out the core mechanism behind static electricity. First discovered in 600 B.C., the underlying physics behind this phenomenon have been a mystery for thousands of years ...

Static electricity is an imbalance in the amount of positive and negative charges found with in the surface of an object. The sudden flow of static electricity or Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can ...

Northwestern University scientists have made a new contribution to understanding a long-standing phenomenon called static electricity. In their most recent research, the researchers found that such ...

Butterflies and moths collect so much static electricity while in flight, that pollen grains from flowers can be pulled by static electricity across air gaps of several millimeters or centimeters. The ...

In this quick science demo, I show how to turn dish soap, water, and a straw into bubbles you can actually control. I walk ...

Zapping someone with your finger is sure to elicit a lot of laughs when you’re 11, but static electricity is one of those things that loses its magic with age. After all, it’s the bane of good hair ...