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The spark associated with static electricity is caused by electrostatic discharge, or simply static discharge, as excess charge is neutralized by a flow of charges from or to the surroundings. The feeling of an electric shock is caused by the stimulation of nerves as the current flows through the human body.
Armstrong Hydroelectric Machine. The Armstrong effect is the physical process by which static electricity is produced by the friction of a fluid. It was first discovered in 1840 when an electrical spark resulted from water droplets being swept out by escaping steam from a boiler.
The generation of static electricity from the relative motion of liquids or gases is well established, with one of the first analyses in 1886 by Lord Kelvin in his water dropper which used falling drops to create an electric generator. [114]
Electrical conductivity of water samples is used as an indicator of how salt-free, ion-free, or impurity-free the sample is; the purer the water, the lower the conductivity (the higher the resistivity). Conductivity measurements in water are often reported as specific conductance, relative to the conductivity of pure water at 25 °C.
Lord Kelvin used this foundation of accumulated knowledge to, in 1859, create an apparatus involving the interaction of a stream of water with the Earth's static electric field to cause charge separation and subsequent measurement of charge to make atmospheric electricity measurements.
Electroluminescence — The phenomenon wherein a material emits light in response to an electric current passed through it, or to a strong electric field. Electrostatic induction — Redistribution of charges in a conductor inside an external static electric field, such as when a charged object is brought close.
Hygroelectricity is a type of static electricity that forms on water droplets and can be transferred from droplets to small dust particles. The phenomenon is common in the Earth's atmosphere but has also been observed in the steam escaping from boilers (see Armstrong effect).
Foam peanuts clinging to a cat's fur due to static electricity.The cat's fur becomes charged due to the triboelectric effect.The electric field of the charged fur causes polarization of the molecules of the foam due to electrostatic induction, resulting in a slight attraction of the light plastic pieces to the fur.