Published
Invisible carbon in the air may explain some of the secrets of static electricity.
From Van der Graaff generators to flying kites in thunderstorms, scientists have spent centuries playing with the strange effects of static electricity – yet the details of the phenomenon remain mysterious. Now experiments show that carbon molecules could play a key role in how oxides gain static charge. Is this the long-hidden mechanism behind static electricity or just another piece of a complex puzzle?
Read the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-10088-w
'Adventitious carbon breaks symmetry in oxide contact electrification'
00:00 The mystery of static electricity
02:13 The challenges of studying tribocharging
02:55 Setting up the experiment
04:40 The importance of baking
06:07 What this means for the study of static electricity
Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday: https://www.nature.com/briefing
From Van der Graaff generators to flying kites in thunderstorms, scientists have spent centuries playing with the strange effects of static electricity – yet the details of the phenomenon remain mysterious. Now experiments show that carbon molecules could play a key role in how oxides gain static charge. Is this the long-hidden mechanism behind static electricity or just another piece of a complex puzzle?
Read the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-10088-w
'Adventitious carbon breaks symmetry in oxide contact electrification'
00:00 The mystery of static electricity
02:13 The challenges of studying tribocharging
02:55 Setting up the experiment
04:40 The importance of baking
06:07 What this means for the study of static electricity
Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday: https://www.nature.com/briefing
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