This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Scientists from RMIT University and Riga Technical University in Latvia have shown that static charge left on surfaces can be controlled, which may have big benefits for companies needing to avoid the little zap in production of common household goods. The discovery could even one day help stop powders such as protein, chocolate malt powders and coffee from clumping.
Static electricity is usually treated as a hazard to prevent. To reduce it, industry often adds expensive conductive additives as a one-size-fits-all fix. The cost of static discharge is about US$5 billion in the electronics industry alone.
The new study findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, offer a potential solution to this challenge, pointing to surfaces with static charge formation that could be programmed to suit application requirements. Peter Sherrell, from RMIT's School of Science, has shown that applying an electric field while two surfaces touch and pull apart controls how much static charge is left behind. It can also control whether that charge is positive or negative—or remove the charge.
The first author and co-corresponding author is Dr. Andris Šutka of Riga Technical University, and Professor Amanda Ellis from the University of Melbourne is a co-author. Ph.D. student Dumindu Dassanayaka and Dr.
Qiang Sun from RMIT are also key contributors to the study. "For example, if we had a conveyor belt processing or sorting seeds, the static charge would change based on the size or species of the seed," Sherrell said. "Our discovery means we could change the electric field around the conveyor belt depending on the species, so there is no risk of a seed getting a static shock." Other possible uses include antistatic surfaces for manufacturing and electronics processing, controlling where charged particles or plastics stick and how they assemble, smarter sensors, and smart air and gas filters.
Most people have chipped lumps out of a protein shaker or chased a floating clump around a mug of chocolate milk. Few know that static electricity is one of the likely culprits. As powders rub and tumble during manufacturing, packing and pouring, the grains can pick up static charge and cling to each other.
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