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 ...

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

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

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

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

There’s a shocking lack of understanding of the physics underlying this commonplace phenomenon, but researchers are on the ...

If you’ve ever felt a shock after rubbing your hair with a balloon or shuffling across a carpet, you’ll know that static ...

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, ...

CASCADE, Mich. — Looking for a fun activity to do at home with your kids? This science experiment is fun for all ages and teaches static electricity during the wintertime! Meteorologist Isabella ...

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 ...