Has it ever happened to you to feel an electric shock when you greeted or brushed against another person without meaning to? Surely yes! It has happened to all of us at some point, but why?
That electrical prick that we can feel sometimes, even when we touch something, is produced due to static electricity, which is the energy accumulated in something that is not moving.
Everything we see is made up of atoms that have three types of particles inside them: electrons (negatively charged), protons (positively charged) and neutrons (neutrally charged). Although in general the positive and negative are in balance, when one thing rubs against another, the electrons are transferred from one to another and accumulate on the surface until we come into contact with another and release it, in the form of that electrical spark that we feel.
The change of state is what produces the static electricity that “jumps” from an insulating material to a conductive one.
Contrary to what is believed, it is not that there are people who are especially sensitive to static electricity, but there may be those who are more predisposed to accumulate electricity, either because they have a larger body volume or, for example, because they use synthetic materials.
Luckily, this phenomenon is not dangerous and just reminds us that everything around us, including ourselves, is made of energy in constant motion.
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