1. A charged
mesh in a chimney acts as an electrostatic dust collector, cleaning the smoke.
2.
Paint sprays can be charged and the object they are spraying earthed to attract the paint
towards it.
3. Vinyl records have to be cleaned to remove the static charge that
builds upon their surface.
4. People thought that static electricity was the cause of
car sickness until it was remembered that a static charge can only be on the outside of a
hollow conductor like a car.
5. Photocopiers work by a charged sheet attracting fine
carbon powder to make the image
6. It can be shown that a water molecule is polar - that is it has one
positive end and one negative one. A stream of water can be deflected by a charged
polythene rod placed near it.
7. Capacitors
A capacitor stores static charge — in
its simplest form it is two plates that are separated by air. More charge can be stored by
increasing the area of the plates, putting them closer together or using another insulator
instead of air. In a practical capacitor the plates are usually rolled up with paper insulation in
between them. In a radio receiver a variable capacitor with moveable plates is used as the
tuner.
8. People must take care when emptying oil tankers and refueling aircraft to
avoid a build up of static charge due to friction that could make a spark and result in an
explosion.