Electrostatic phenomena occur when bodies have their electrical charge in balance.
Electrostatics is the specialization of physics focused on the analysis of the systems that form bodies with an electrical charge in equilibrium . These bodies, having an electrical charge, cause reactions of rejection and attraction , generating the so-called electrostatic phenomena .
Several centuries before Christ , Thales of Miletus discovered the property of materials to attract other objects. He achieved this through experiments with amber, rubbing said substance on some surfaces.
What is electrostatics
When an object accumulates electrical charges , it produces static electricity . This accumulation can be generated if two materials rub against each other, since electrons pass from one surface to another due to the difference in energy levels (the two bodies will remain charged, one with a negative charge and the other with a positive charge). Upon contact, an electrostatic discharge may appear: an electric current that circulates momentarily between objects that have different potentials.
On the other hand, if a neutral element is touched by another element that has an electric charge, both will result in the same type of charge .
Electrically charged material that attracts or repels electrons from another material produces an induced charge . In the second element, an area with a greater positive charge is developed that causes attraction. This can be seen when a balloon is rubbed and then held to the wall by the attractive force derived from the opposite charges of both surfaces.
Electrostatic discharge generates effects that can be positive or negative depending on the context.
Taking advantage of the phenomenon
The phenomena of electrostatics can be used with some benefit, as happens in the field of xerography . In other contexts, such as electronics , they are unwanted consequences that can generate various kinds of damage.
The printing process called xerography (which should be pronounced serography ), uses dry electrostatics in order to reproduce or copy an image or document. Its name derives from two Greek terms that refer to "dry writing." Its invention took place in 1938 by an American physicist and businessman named Chester Floyd Carlson , who only a decade later obtained the financial support of a company to develop and market his creation.
Negative effects of electrostatics
Regarding the unwanted phenomena of electrostatics, there are many and each of them must be considered within its scope. For example, one of the most common problems in the world of work revolves around the discharges suffered by staff, something very common in offices where the level of static electricity in objects is very high.
The problem occurs when an employee approaches a highly loaded material, such as a roll of film in an area where it is rolled or unrolled. This exposure is not at all harmless: it can cause cramps or even diseases, such as semicircular lipoatrophy , a disorder of the subcutaneous tissue that causes depressions in the muscles, specifically on its anterolateral side.
This leads us to understand that companies must invest time and money in processes to eliminate electrostatics in their facilities, and to do so they must hire the relevant services, or create a department that is specifically in charge of this problem.
When an employee is electrostatically discharged in the office, an electrical arc can be generated between them and the charged object, which can lead to a dangerous situation. On the other hand, the individual can accumulate part of this charge if he stays a short distance from the source; In this case, the arc will be generated only when it approaches a grounded metal piece. A suitable product to solve these phenomena is the electrostatic eliminator bar , which can neutralize charges in a maximum radius of one meter.