How much voltage in a static shock

As a rough rule of thumb, more than fifty volts is sufficient to drive a potentially lethal current through the body. Other factors that can determine the severity of an electric shock include the duration of the shock and where the shock enters the body.

For example, a shock passing from one arm through the chest to the other arm is much more dangerous than a shock between two toes. The lower an item sits on the list, the more likely it will attract more electrons and become negatively charged.

Rubbing objects far from each other on the list creates a bigger charge than objects closer together. For example, polishing a glass plate with a silk scarf electrifies the scarf so that it acts like a magnet. At even more disparate ends of a series, the friction of rabbit's fur on a Teflon pan generates additional electricity.

When you stride across a wool carpet in leather shoes, your shoes pick up extra electrons from the carpet with each step. By the time you lift your foot up off the ground, the electrons will have spread around your entire body, giving you a negative charge. The next time you put your foot on the carpet, your shoe doesn't have any extra electrons, but your head might.

So more electrons make the leap to your foot. You end up with a high voltage, about 20, to 25, volts. Generating millions and millions of voltage and we all know the damage lightning can do to property and people.

Another recognizable effect of static electricity is the shock you receive when you slid out of a car in dry weather conditions and feel a zap. The human body feels a shock when the voltage is higher than about 3, volts. Walking over a carpet can generate 35, volts. The discharge is not life threatening but it still hurts. Unfortunately, their effect is much more hazardous and not as readily apparent. Static electricity is an electrical charge at rest. Static electricity is most commonly created by friction and separation.

Friction causes heat which excites the molecular particles of the material. When two materials are then separated, a transfer of electrons from one material to the other may take place. As electrons transfer, the absence or surplus of electrons creates an electrical field known as static electricity.

The simple separation of two materials, as when tape is pulled off a roll, can also create this same transfer of electrons between materials, generating static electrical fields. The amount of static electricity generated depends upon the materials subjected to friction or separation, the amount of friction or separation and the relative humidity of the environment. Common plastic generally will create the greatest static charge. Low humidity conditions such as those created when the air is heated during the winter will also promote the generation of significant static electrical charges.

Materials that do not easily transfer electrons are called insulators.