An early physics demonstration that many of us see in elementary school is that of static electricity :  an electrical insulator like a wool...

An invention made from waste polystyrene that generates static electricity from motion and wind could lower power usage by recycling waste energy in air co

Fluoropolymers are the state-of-the-art materials for flexible electromechanical conversion. However, they present environmental challenges through the release of polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PF....

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This familiar phenomenon has puzzled researchers for centuries, but experiments are finally making sense of its unruly behaviors

Water-solid friction produces clean and durable electricity upon environmental excitation. By revealing and overcoming the fundamental limitations of liquid-solid triboelectricity, a switch-enhanced generator achieves high energy output, good load adaptability, and can harvest energy from multiple scenarios to power electronics.

Harnessing a principle known as triboelectrification, researchers have worked out the optimal way to generate an electrical charge in a relatively simple way. The breakthrough could provide a…

Scientists developed a device that combines wind and solar to harvest clean energy more efficiently and create a self-cleaning solar panel.

Water drops sliding over insulating and hydrophobic surfaces can accumulate electric charge. Consequently, the solid surfaces underneath a drop acquire opposite charges, a process referred to as slide1,2 or contact electrification, analogous to triboelectricity between solids3. It is not clear how charges are transferred, given that bringing a unit charge from the solid–water interface to the free solid surface is highly energetically unfavourable. Unlike solid tribocharging, where high shear stresses easily break chemical bonds at asperities4,5, the contact line of a drop is soft. While the charging of drops has been recognized for over a century6,7, quantitative experiments have been scarce until recently. In the past decade protocols have emerged to quantify this charging of sliding drops8,9,10,11. Understanding the mechanisms behind water drop electrification is essential to understanding dynamic wetting and has major implications for many areas related to condensation, energy generation, printing and desalination12,13,14. Despite extensive efforts, the microscopic origin of charge transfer in slide electrification remains debated15,16,17. For liquid water, the prevailing view attributes charging primarily to surface charges, which form spontaneously at the water–solid interface. The bound surface charges are usually formed by the dissociation of surface groups such as amino groups18 or the adsorption of ions...

Japanese researchers have turned ordinary laser-printed toner and plastic into a touch-sensitive interface that can recognize finger movements, commands, and even individual users.

Static electricity secrets may explain planet formation

We propose a microphysical theory of the triboelectric effect by which mechanical rubbing separates charges across the interface between two surfaces. Surface electrons are treated as an open system, ...

An enduring question in science has been why sliding plays a major role in the triboelectric generation of static electricity–the “tribo” in triboelectricity. We provide here a general explanation whi...