(EAM) Application/Uses Lesson

Application/Uses

Although static electricity can be a nuisance—like getting a shock when you touch a doorknob or having static cling to your clothes—it has a number of beneficial uses. The forces of attraction between charged particles caused by static electricity are used in air pollution control, automobile painting, and defibrillators.

Static electricity is used in pollution control by applying a static charge to dirt particles in the air and then collecting those charged particles on a plate or collector of the opposite electrical charge. Such devices are often called electrostatic precipitators.

Pollution Control Using Static Electricity description Links to an external site.

Some people purchase what are called air ionizers to freshen and purify the air in their homes. They work on a similar principle as the smokestack pollution control. These devices strip electrons from smoke molecules, dust particles, and pollen in the air, just as what happens in creating static electricity. These charged dust and smoke particles are then attracted to and stick to a plate on the device with the opposite charge. After a while, much of the pollution is drawn from the air. Since charged particles will also stick to neutral surfaces, some of them can stick to the wall near the ionizer, making it very dirty and difficult to clean.

Some automobile manufacturers use static electricity to help them paint the cars they make. The way this works is that they first prepare the car's surface and then put it in a paint booth. Next, they give the paint an electrical charge and then spray a fine mist of paint into the booth. The charged paint particles are attracted to the car and stick to the body, just like a charged balloon sticks to a wall. Once the paint dries, it sticks much better to the car and is smoother because it is evenly distributed.

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