4 DECEMBER, 2024
Who: AI expert and adjunct Associate Professor at Charles Darwin University in the Faculty of Science and Technology, and Associate Professor at Australian Catholic University
Associate Professor Niusha Shafiabady. Associate Professor Shafiabady is an internationally recognised expert and developer of AI data analysis platform Ai-Labz.
Topics:
- The discovery of static electricity, and how it works.
- How to avoid being zapped by static electricity.
Contact details: Call +61 8 8946 6721 or email media@cdu.edu.au to arrange an interview.
Quotes attributable to Associate Professor Shafiabady:
“Static charge is inconvenient, but it is not dangerous except in places where we have flammable materials like a fuel station.
“Due to factors like friction, some electrons will leave their orbits and jump from one surface to another, leaving the first positively charged and the second negatively charged.
“If you’re wearing shoes, when walking on a wool carpet the friction between the rubber soles and the carpet will cause some of the electrons on the carpet's surface to transfer to the rubber surface, making the shoes negatively charged. If you then touch a tap, taps are a good conductor and the voltage between the tap and your body causes the extra electrons to travel from your body to the steel tap. This is when you feel a zap.
“Another common case of getting zapped by static electricity is when you are taking off a polyester jumper on a cold, dry evening. In this case, the friction between your body and the polyester fabric causes some electrons to transfer from your body's surface to the fabric's surface, building up voltage. When we remove the jumper, the excessive electrons on the jumper discharge and cause static shock, blue sparks, and crackling noise.
“To avoid being zapped by static charge, you can connect your body through a material like a copper wire that conducts the electrons easily to the earth. This way, the extra electrons won’t stay on the surface of your body and move to the ground and you won’t get zapped.”
Contact details:
Raphaella Saroukos she/her
Research Communications Officer
Marketing, Media & Communications
Larrakia Country
T: +61 8 8946 6721
E: media@cdu.edu.au
W: cdu.edu.au