Re: Magnitude of feet-scuffing voltage?

[William Beaty <billb@ESKIMO.COM>]

On Sat, 23 Jan 1999, William Beaty wrote:

> My situation is abnormal: the purpose of the voltmeter is to shatter the
> misconceptions of a person who believes that "static electricity" involves
> only surface charge, and has nothing to do with high voltage.

Have others here encountered this misconception before?  I was aware of
it, but never wrote it down, and it does not appear on my website.

Perhaps a good question for a misconception-screening exam would read like
this:  What is the expected voltage range for "static electricity."  If
you rub a balloon on your head and pull it away, the potential difference
between the balloon and your head could be: 0 volts, 10 volts, 100 volts,
100,000 volts


Another unlisted misconception:  humid weather makes the air become damp
and conductive, and so imbalanced charges will rapidly vanish as they leak
through the air and to the earth.

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William J. Beaty                                  SCIENCE HOBBYIST website
billb@eskimo.com                                  http://www.amasci.com
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