Possibly it has happened to you on some occasion to go quietly, with your coffee in hand, ready to take the car to start a good morning. But as soon as you open the car door you get a shock. And you might even have the bad luck that the drink ends up on your shirt. The culprit is none other than the static electricity of the vehicle. Any self-respecting driver should be aware of basic tricks such as how to quickly demist the windshield or cool the car faster. In addition to, of course, avoiding those sparks when the door is opened or closed.
It may seem like a minor mishap, just an annoying feeling. But the truth is that static electricity could pose certain risks in certain situations. For example, when refueling the vehicle. Since one of those sparks would be capable of causing a fire. So it is convenient not to underestimate them and to remedy them.
The static electricity of the car is what causes these sparks. It is found in people and vehicles and makes an appearance when it passes spontaneously from one object to another, in the event that these present a different potential. In the same way that the car accumulates a positive charge when it circulates, for example, due to air friction, so do people. Usually when your clothes rub against the upholstery of the vehicle.
Therefore, both car and driver have a positive charge. So why does the cramp occur? When both come into contact with each other at the same time that the ground is touched. This acts as a negative pole. Thus, when the person touches the ground, a discharge of electricity is caused. But, at the moment in which it comes into contact with the car, it is charged again and that is when the spark occurs.
The positive and negative charge relationship between the triangle created by the driver, the vehicle, and the ground can be broken by a number of measures.
