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Please help! I'm static-man

Oh and I forgot

I forgot to mention... I was going to ask if there's any knowledge of Static Electricity having being used by scam artists to fool the gullible into thinking someone has special powers.

I know people have used tiny magnets actually positioned under their skin, or very controlled and hard to see blowing, to move book pages.
 
It's not the cold, it's the lack of humidity. All you have to do is fill up some pots with water and boil them on your stove. It's cheaper than buying a humidifier! Basically you just need more humidity in your home. The cold freezes all the moisture in the air, leaving it very dry.

Trust me, I know, I live in a state where 10 degrees is warm this time of year. It's ridiculous. I reached over to turn off a lamp the other night and practically electrocuted myself.
 
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chippy said:
It's not the cold, it's the lack of humidity. All you have to do is fill up some pots with water and boil them on your stove. It's cheaper than buying a humidifier! Basically you just need more humidity in your home. The cold freezes all the moisture in the air, leaving it very dry.

Trust me, I know, I live in a state where 10 degrees is warm this time of year. It's ridiculous. I reached over to turn off a lamp the other night and practically electrocuted myself.
Click to expand...

Sometimes I get a shock from the water coming out of the tape (not from the steel tap now, but from the water itself!). It's a cool to see the water move towards your hand.
 
In addition to the dry air, the surface you are on can be the problem. I put foam in the back of my little camper once and anytime you scooted across it you had to ground yourself or you'd get a shock. I just learned to touch the wheel-well when moving around in the camper. Socks on certain floors can do it. Experiment with different locations and foot wear and see if you can pin down the offending materials/surfaces.
 
If all else fails, pound a metal rod deep into the ground and tether yourself to it with a few thousand metres of aircraft cable (more if travelling out of town).

I used to get some bad-ass shocks in Edmonton during the winter. I tried, unsucessfully, to capture the discharges on photographic film. It was fun to sneak up and shock the cat and girlfriend though.
 
And if all else fails, build a Faraday Cage around yourself. ;)

Actually, the dissimilar materials and humdity control are really your best bets. So, no more rubbing lamb's wool on amber for you.
 
I have the same problem.

Wear cotton clothing, and leather soled shoes. Those two make the biggest difference.
 
BTW, one trick I've learned is to touch any metal surface with the back of my wrist before using my fingers. Either the wider surface area or fewer nerve endings (perhaps both) make it much less painful than getting zapped through my fingers.
 
kevin said:
BTW, one trick I've learned is to touch any metal surface with the back of my wrist before using my fingers. Either the wider surface area or fewer nerve endings (perhaps both) make it much less painful than getting zapped through my fingers.
Click to expand...

Dunno about the nerve endings, but surface area does have a major effect. For a constant electrical charge, the voltage difference is inversely proportional to the capacitance. As the surface area increases, so does the capacitance and thus the voltage drops. Try building up a charge, and then touching a grounded surface with a) the tip of the pinkey finger, b) the tip of the thumb, c) the palm of the hand.
The difference in the 'zap' effect is very noticeable.
 
Dragonrock said:
Moving your hand quickly won't help, electricity moves at the speed of light, and I doubt you can move your hand that fast. The better idea is to ground yourself with something less sensitive like your elbow of the back of your hand.
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Current does not move at the speed of light. Current flow is the movement of electrons through a conductor. Since electrons have mass, they cannot move at the speed of light. Also, electrons don't just move through empty space. They interact with the atoms of the conductor, which slows them down greatly.

The "zap" is short because there's not a lot of electrons stored on your body, not because the discharge is especially fast.

Here's a nifty site that has some information on current flow.
 
MortFurd said:
Current does not move at the speed of light. Current flow is the movement of electrons through a conductor. Since electrons have mass, they cannot move at the speed of light. Also, electrons don't just move through empty space. They interact with the atoms of the conductor, which slows them down greatly.

The "zap" is short because there's not a lot of electrons stored on your body, not because the discharge is especially fast.

Here's a nifty site that has some information on current flow.
Click to expand...
True, they don't move at c, but they do move one HELL of a lot faster than your muscles can move your arm.
 
i am glad i found this site- i too have a big problem with static electricity. But I also experience it in the summer (not as bad though) walking on a marble floor ,touched marble banister and got a "zap". One of my problems is that i am a teacher and can't always ground myself before touching someone! just zapped a student yesterday. Usually I am in tennis shoes on linoleum floor. Most of my clothing is cotton- hmm.

I am glad to know that i am not going crazy

I am open to suggestions
 
Here's a solution we used in my husband's car (he had velor seats and during the winter months the static was a killer!). Keep a few new dryer sheets in the car. Every week or so, rub one all over the surface of the seat where your body would be touching it. That seemed to really cut down on static buildup in the car.

The dryer sheets also work well if rubbed over your hair. This prevents fly-away hair during the winter, and static is kept to a minimum. You can also rub a dryer sheet over the bristles of your brush and comb.

I'm not sure if using dryer sheets on your hands would work when in the supermarket and trying to open one of those glass and metal dairy cases, but you might want to try that as well.
 
How about a copper rivet in your shoe sole, to make your own anti-static shoes? Or maybe an aluminum pop rivet. Ground yourself every step, before the charge builds.

Feet sweat is variable. Maybe some of you folks have drier feet, and don't make good contact with the earth? I'm a big guy at 1/7 of a ton, 15% body fat, and seldom get static- from anything. Or anybody. But big folks sweat more. Inverse square of the surface/cooling area. Scale something up to twice the mass, get only 70% more cooling surface area. So a 30% shortage in 'radiator'. Maybe all of you folks with electrifying personalities are slender?
 
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You can buy rubberized conductive straps for the car. They attach to the frame and drag on the ground. According to Click and Clack, these work.
Cotton clothing does not generate static, in my experience. But the floor surface and shoes are the big problem. Usually, carpets are bad but I saw a lab once that for some reason, with a tile floor, the static was deadly. I finally told them to use a long lead grounded wrist band, like they use for computer repairs. There was no other solution, except to go barefoot.

Humidifying the air works too.

Or,.....turn it into a feature...use it to charge your ipod!:)
 
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seasame said:
i am glad i found this site- i too have a big problem with static electricity. But I also experience it in the summer (not as bad though) walking on a marble floor ,touched marble banister and got a "zap". One of my problems is that i am a teacher and can't always ground myself before touching someone! just zapped a student yesterday. Usually I am in tennis shoes on linoleum floor. Most of my clothing is cotton- hmm.

I am glad to know that i am not going crazy

I am open to suggestions
Click to expand...

HEre is ta solution:

chippy said:
I'm just saying, if you know it's due to a lack of humidity, then you know how to fix the problem. Put more humidity in your home.
Click to expand...

Also don't wear polyester
 
I have the same problem, mostly at work for some reason (I blame the cheap carpet).

On that point, the other week I was walking through the library at work. A staff member was showing round a group of be-suited visitors, speaking in a low voice, so I quietly edged round them being careful not to interrupt.

When I went to open the door, however, I forgot to touch the wooden surround first and got a massive jolt from the metal handle. I actually saw the spark and heard the crack.

"JESUS!" I shouted, and I could just feel everyone behind me turn to look. The staff member momentarily fell silent.

I didn't feel like explaining what had happened so I sort of winced and hurriedly left without looking back.
 
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