Static electricity may seem simple. Students often learn that rubbing a balloon against their hair will cause negatively ...

The familiar phenomenon has puzzled researchers for centuries, but experiments are finally making sense of its unruly ...

The original story “ Physicists solved a decades-old mystery about static electricity ” is published in The Brighter Side of ...

Seemingly random charging of identical materials depends on the carbonaceous molecules stuck to their surfaces ...

A growing body of research is shifting how scientists explain static electricity, pointing to surface contamination and ...

A microscopic layer of environmental carbon solves a long-standing mystery about static electricity's true origins.

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, ...

Many people are familiar with the experience: grabbing their favorite blanket and gotting shocked. Static electricity may not be too dangerous, but it is uncomfortable and annoying. So, why is there ...

MINNEAPOLIS — When someone touches something and gets shocked, it's awkward and a bit painful. What causes static electricity ...

Could detecting static electricity be a factor in explaining why treehopper insects have evolved such bizarre body shapes? That is the hypothesis put forward in a new research paper published in ...

Butterflies and moths collect so much static electricity whilst in flight, that pollen grains from flowers can be pulled by static electricity across air gaps of several millimetres or centimetres.