Static Electricity ZAPS!!!?

Question

Is it the cold? If it is...I hate WINTER because of this... I can't flip a light on, restart my computer, turn on the TV or anything without getting ZAPPED...

Is there anyway to like discharge myself without getting zapped? :(

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

It's not the cold, its the lack of humidty that prevents static charges from "bleeding off" as they normally do in the summer.

If you hold a metal object (such as a key) firmly in your hand, you can discharge the static build up on your body to any nearby grounded object, like a water faucet or one of the screws holding the cover plate on a light switch, usually without feeling a shock. By allowing the discharge to pass through the metal object first instead of directly from your body you spread the current out over a much larger area than a spark discharge from your finger does.

That works for me anyway. If you are more sensitive to shock than I am, you will need to increase the humidty in the room to allow the charge to bleed off into the air more rapidly, but not as rapidly as it does in the form of a spark. Sometimes keeping a full tea-kettle on simmer while at home is all it takes, or you may need to purchase an humidifier.

Answer 2

Use an antistatic bag or some antistatic foam (that they package electronics or computer stuff in) to touch a faucet or other grounded object. You want to touch something grounded, but not directly, or you'll draw a spark. If you use an antistatic bag, it acts as a 1 Megohm resistor in series with you to slow down the rate of discharge so that the current involved isn't so high. When you touch something directly, the current can be as high as several amperes, though it only lasts a few microseconds.

When you get shocked, it's because you body is acting like a ~1nanofarad capacitor that's charged up to 10-20 kV. Adding some resistance in series when you discharge decreases the current dramatically.

FYI : touching a nonconductive surface isn't going to help.

Answer 3

Hi -

Static electricity in a normal house or office environment is really more a function of humidity than anything else. Typically in the winter the humidity is lower. Add your house's heating system to the equation and the air gets even more dry! Dry air + motion = static.

There's no easy way to fix the problem of static in a normal environment - but you can try some different things to help. One way is to try and raise the humidity in your home (a simple humidifier from a drug store may do the trick). Another thing is to try different clothes - some materials are more likely to generate static than others. You can also try skin cream on your hands and arms to help raise the moisture content of your skin - dry skin is another source of static.

Since you probably won't be able to completely get rid of the static you can also try holding a metallic object (like a key) and touch that to a metal surface. This way the static electricity won't be jumping from your skin, but instead from the key. It usually doesn't hurt when you use this approach.

Hope that helped!

Answer 4

Touch a non-conductive surface such as wood before you touch metal. Should help.