why do i get a light electric shock when i get out of the car of my friend?

Question

whenever i sit in my friend's new car, when i get out of the car after a drive, i get a slight electric shock when i touch the door. and its irritating, i dont like it. what can i do to prevent such shock?

Answer 1

Yeah, it is huh? It's thosee damn rubber tires insulating you from ground, allowing a few dozen to a couple hundred volts of staic to build up. If you hold the door handle or something metal firmly as you step out, you may be able to avoid it.

I used to have a Mazda that had a "semi-conductive" static dissipator on the door panel that you'd touch before getting out, it worked pretty good (actually, a carbon-loaded rubber compound, I believe, moderate resistance).

Try that, and once your weather turns less dry (assuming it does), the problem should disappear.

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Answer 2

The friction of your clothing against the car's upholstery builds up a static charge, much as does scuffing across the carpet on a dry day. Use the car key to discharge the static to the car's body, holding the key by some metallic part. The current density through your fingers into the key will be too small to feel.

Answer 3

This is probably due to static electricity. The same thing when you rub a balloon with your hair and it stand up on end.

If the car has cushions that can build up static electricity on the same way by rubbing your pants on the car seats.

This can be very dangerous if you rub on the seats and then touch the gas pump. Explosions have occurred from the spark generated when you touch the metal pump!

Answer 4

Moving objects develop a static charge (helicopters in rescue must be especially careful) although it is unusual in cars. One solution is to attach a wire (or noisy chain) from the body to the ground to drain the charge off. It is basically that the car is insulated by the rubber tires and when you step out you apparently have leather shoes or other ground path and when you touch the car, the spark jumps.