Sometimes I touch a car or a door and I feel the static electricity in my hand and it hurts sometimes. I try not to touch anything because I feel like I am going to feel this pain again. Is there a way to avoid the static electricity?
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4I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not about physics – John Rennie Feb 07 '16 at 16:07
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1related/duplicate: Static electricity and door handles, How to avoid getting shocked by static electricity?, How can I prevent being zapped by static electricity every time I touch a doorknob or handle in the office?, etc. – AccidentalFourierTransform Feb 07 '16 at 16:08
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While this question is rather suitable for http://lifehacks.stackexchange.com/, here are few physical hints: 1) You use materials that transfer charge on you; try e.g. to replace the plastic shoes for rubber, synthetics for cotton. 2) The charge is not drained fast enough; use air moistener or buy some plants when indoors. 3) Finally, the charge flows through your fingertips leading to high current density that hurts; if in doubts, touch the suspicious object with keys first. – dominecf Feb 07 '16 at 20:47
3 Answers
It's your clothing. You generate the static as you walk, etc. Changing the materials, or using an anti-static treatment will reduce the static. Static is worse in very dry weather.
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There is no easy, obvious way to avoid building up a static charge. Carrying around an ion generator to get rid of excess charge is not exactly practical.
A static shock hurts because the discharge current passes through a very small area of skin at the point of discharge. The classic way to avoid a painful shock is to hold a key by the flat area and touch the tip of the key to the doorknob or whatever is giving you trouble. The large area of contact between your fingers and the body of the key spreads out the current flow through your skin when the key makes contact, and this low current density is not felt as pain. You'll still get a spark at the end of the key, but no shock.
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Wear a tinfoil hat covered in conducting needles. These will dissipate any charge buildup on your body.