Why do clothes have static electricity? What materials are prone to static electricity

Static electricity is a static charge. Static electricity is formed by the redistribution of charge caused by friction, or by the mutual attraction of charges. We often don't understand why there is static electricity on clothes.

Contents of this article

1. Why do clothes have static electricity?

2. What materials are prone to generate static electricity?

3. Static electricity hazards

Why do clothes have static electricity?

Static electricity on clothes is caused by the fabric not absorbing moisture and being too dry. Since chemical fiber fabrics are not hygroscopic, static electricity generated by friction cannot be conducted and dispersed into space, so the static electricity accumulates. Static electricity will be generated by friction between any objects.

The friction between clothes made of chemical fiber can easily generate static electricity. Most of the clothes nowadays are made of composite materials, such as acrylic, polyester, etc., which are prone to static electricity. People who are afraid of static electricity can avoid wearing clothes made of these materials.

Although cotton is hygroscopic, cotton clothes will also generate static electricity when it is particularly dry in winter. However, compared with chemical fiber fabrics, the static electricity on cotton clothes is much less. Cotton clothes can generate static electricity, but it is not easy to accumulate.

Fabric softener can reduce static electricity on clothes. Fabric softener contains chemicals that specifically prevent the accumulation of electric charges. Preventing the accumulation of electric charges when washing and drying clothes can make clothes less dry and less likely to accumulate static electricity when hung in the closet.

What materials are prone to static electricity?

Resistance is a physical quantity that indicates the electrical conductivity of an object. The resistance of a fiber is generally expressed as specific resistance, and the mass specific resistance is commonly used for textile fibers of lace non-elastic fabrics. The resistance when current passes through an object of unit mass and its length is unit length is called mass specific resistance. Textile materials are poor conductors, so the mass specific resistance is very large. The most important factors affecting the resistance of fiber materials are the hygroscopicity of the fiber and the relative humidity of the air. When the fiber has good hygroscopicity and the relative humidity of the air is high, the fiber absorbs a lot of moisture and the resistance is small. Therefore, the resistance of cotton, linen, and viscose fibers is smaller than that of synthetic fibers such as polyester, nylon, and polyester. The surface of wool fibers has poor hygroscopicity due to the coverage of scales, and also shows a higher resistance. When the moisture content in the fiber increases, the mass specific resistance will decrease, and the clothing will not easily accumulate static electricity in a humid climate. If the fiber resistance is too high, it is easy to generate static electricity and affect the comfort performance. During the processing and wearing process of fiber materials, static electricity will be generated by friction with the human body and various objects. If the conductivity of the fiber or object is not good, the charge is not easy to escape, which often affects the production and processing and reduces the quality of the fabric. When static electricity is generated, clothing is easily stained and entangled, which makes human activities inconvenient, uncomfortable and unsightly to wear, and even causes fire. The intensity of static electricity carried by the material can be expressed by the charge half-life, that is, the time required for the static voltage or charge on the fiber material to decay to half of the original value; it can also be indirectly expressed by the specific resistance of the fiber. The maximum charge of various fibers is roughly the same, but the static decay speed is different.

Static electricity hazards

Static electricity shock usually only occurs in an instant, and the current passing through the human body is an instantaneous impact current. The hazards are mainly manifested in three aspects: direct injury, secondary injury, and mental stress. When the human body is subjected to static electricity shock, it will cause mental stress, and may also cause misoperation, fall from height, and fall injuries.

Static electricity is a static electric charge. It is formed by the redistribution of electric charge caused by friction, or by the mutual attraction of electric charges.

When electric charges gather on an object or surface, static electricity is formed. Electric charges are divided into positive charges and negative charges, that is, static electricity phenomena are also divided into positive static electricity and negative static electricity.

At present, static electricity has begun to play a role in many aspects such as desalination of seawater, spraying of pesticides, artificial rainfall, low-temperature freezing, etc., and even electrostatic devices such as electrostatic feeders are installed on spacecraft.