Static electricity often just seems like an everyday annoyance when a wool sweater crackles as you pull it off, or when a doorknob delivers an unexpected zap. Regardless, the phenomenon is much more ...

How does static electricity work? Learn more about these electrical chargers and how they may have been a key to life. Unlike flowing electricity, static electricity can accumulate on surfaces and ...

Ancient Greeks discovered that when animal fur and amber were rubbed together, the fur could be used to attract feathers, glass dust and other lightweight objects. It wasn’t until 1600 AD, however, ...

Static electricity is the buildup of an electrical charge on the surface of an object. Lightning is the most dramatic and potentially lethal example of static discharge. A far more benign illustration ...

The imbalance of charges that takes place with this fun phenomenon typically happens when two different materials come into contact and then are separated. In the experience, one of the materials may ...

Static electricity shocks are more common in the winter because of the season's dry air. Friction between materials, like socks on carpet, builds up a static charge in low humidity. Using a humidifier ...

A stream of compressed air does not look like a power source. In factories, it usually hisses through pipes, drives tools, then disappears as waste. But under the right conditions, that same airflow ...

Curious Crew is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and ...

Ancient Greeks discovered that when animal fur and amber were rubbed together, the fur could be used to attract feathers, glass dust and other lightweight objects. It wasn’t until 1600 AD, however, ...