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The Physics of shocking someone

ncharles

Entry posted by ncharles

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Everyone inter life has shocked someone by rubbing their feet on the ground and then touching the other person. It is a classic trick often pulled in the winter. However many people don't know why or how this happens. Well the first step is rubbing your shocks, preferably wool, on the carpet. This causes your socks to "steal" electrons from the carpet and make your socks negatively charged. This is obviously not the state that the electrons want to be in so at any chance they can get they will jump over to another, more positively charged, object. So when you go to touch your friend, they are usually neutrally charged so to create and equilibrium, the electrons jump over to your friend causing it to shock them. This prank works better in the winter because with the winter come less humidity and less water vapor in the air. And we all know that electricity and water are never a good mix so the less humanity makes it easier for the electrons to travel from objet to object. 

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