When winter comes, "Zap!" That unpleasant sensation that runs through your fingertips the moment you touch a doorknob. It's static electricity. It hurts, doesn't it? If you let your guard down ...

For centuries, static electricity has been the subject of intrigue and scientific investigation. Now, researchers from the Waitukaitis group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) ...

Invisibly to us, insects and other tiny creatures use static electricity to travel, avoid predators, collect pollen and more. New experiments explore how evolution may have influenced this phenomenon.

Door handles, taps, playground slides, furry pets… Getting zapped by static electricity is a common experience. But the physics that causes the spark is surprisingly intricate. If you’re getting ...

Around 1600, William Gilbert invented the versorium, the first electroscope, to detect static electric charges. The English physician and natural philosopher studied electricity and magnetism through ...