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Explanation of Materials that Cause Static Electricity - Succeed in Physical Science. Also refer to triboelectric series, physics, charges electron, chemical bonding, Periodic Table, friction, positive, negative, surface charges, human skin, wool, cotton, polyester, Ron Kurtus, School for Champions. Copyright © Restrictions

Materials that Cause Static Electricity

by Ron Kurtus (revised 22 November)

Some materials cause or create more static electricity than others. Since static electricity is the collection of electrically charged particles on the surface of a material, various materials have a tendency of either giving up electrons and becoming positive (+) in charge or attracting electrons and becoming negative (-) in charge. The Triboelectric Series is a list of materials, showing which have a greater tendency to become positive (+) and which have a greater tendency to become negative (-). The list is a handy tool to determine which combinations of materials create the most static electricity.

Questions you may have include:

• What are materials in the Triboelectric Series?
• What are the best combinations of materials?
• What are acceptable combinations ?

This lesson will answer those questions. There is a mini-quiz near the end of the lesson.

Useful tools: Metric-English Conversion | Scientific Calculator.

Triboelectric Series

Common materials are listed according how well they create static electricity when rubbed with another material, as well as what charge the material will possess.

Become positive in charge

The following materials will tend to give up electrons when brought in contact with other materials. They are listed from those with the greatest tendency to give electrons to those that barely give up electrons.

Neutral

There are very few materials that do not tend to readily attract or give up electrons when brought in contact or rubbed with other materials.

Become negative in charge

The following materials will tend to attract electrons when brought in contact with other materials. They are listed from those with the least tendency to attract electrons to those that readily attract electrons.

Best Combinations

The best combinations of materials to create static electricity would be one from the positive charge list and one from the negative charge list.

Skin and polyester clothes

A common complaint people have in the winter is that they shoot sparks when touching objects. This is typically caused because they have dry skin, which can become highly positive (+) in charge, especially when the clothes they wear are made of polyester material, which can become negative (-) in charge.

People that build up static charges due to dry skin are advised to wear all-cotton clothes, which is neutral. Also, moist skin reduces the collection of charges.

Combing your hair

Human hair becomes positive (+) in charge when combed. A hard rubber or plastic comb will collect negative (-) charges on its surface. Since similar charges repel, the hair strands will push away from each other, especially if the hair is very dry. This is called "flyaway" hair. Since the comb is negatively charged, it will attract object with a positive charge—like hair. It will also even attract material with no charge—like small pieces of paper.

Fur and plexiglas rod

Rubbing a plexiglas rod with rabbit fur or wool will give the rod a negative charge. Although the rod can be used to pick up scraps of paper, the fur and wool quickly lose their charge.

Moderate combinations

When two materials that tend to give up electrons are rubbed together, the one with the greatest tendency will moderately become positive (+) in charge. Likewise, when two materials that tend to attract electrons are rubbed together, the one with the greatest tendency will moderately become negative (-) in charge.

Silk and glass

Rubbing a glass rod with a silk cloth will charge the glass with positive charges. The silk does not retain any charges for long.

Saran Wrap

Unrolling a piece of Saran Wrap or similar plastic wrap creates negative charges on the sheet. It will tend to stick to neutral items.

Summary

Various materials have a tendency of either giving up electrons and becoming positive (+) in charge or attracting electrons and becoming negative (-) in charge. The Triboelectric Series is a list of materials, showing the relative tendency to become charged. This list can be used to determine which combinations of materials create the most static electricity.

Reader Questions and Comments

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Resources

The following resources provide information on this subject:

Websites

Triboelectric effect - from Wikipedia free Encyclopedia

Triboelectric Charging of Common Objects - applications from the University of Rochester

Background of Triboelectric Effect - from Harvard University

Physical Science Resources

Books

Top-rated books on Static Electricity

Miscellaneous

Mini-quiz to check your understanding

1. What happens to a material that collects electrons on its surface?

2. Rubbing which materials together would produce the most static electricity?

3. If you combed your hair with a plastic comb, which would give up its electrons?

If you got all three correct, you are on your way to becoming a Champion in Physical Science. If you had problems, you had better look over the material again.

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Materials that Cause Static Electricity