BENGALURU: Many Bengalureans are reporting static shocks – while brushing hair, opening car doors, using a gas lighter or a metal tap or while simply rolling a plastic mat. Spooky as these sudden jolts can be, weathermen have a scientific explanation for the phenomenon.
A Prasad, senior scientist at Meteorological Centre, Bengaluru, attributes it to the dry weather. “The air is now relatively very dry and it promotes static electricity.”
Static electricity discharge occurs when two materials with different electrical permittivity, such as the skin and a piece of clothing or a blanket, come into contact and an exchange of electrons (charges) takes place, explains Dr Udaya Kumar, professor and chair, department of electrical engineering, Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
