Static Energy?

Question

When you touch a friend after walking across a rug on a dry day, you typically draw a spark of about 2 mm. The magnitude of the electric field for which dielectric breakdown occurs in air is about 3MV/m. Estimate the potential difference between you and your friend before the spark (answer in V).

Answer 1

If dielectric breakdown occurs at 3 MV/m and the spark is 2mm it is not hard to find the potential difference.

3 MV/m * 2x10-3 m =6000 V