Triboelectric effect
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The triboelectric effect describes electric charge transfer between two objects when they contact or slide against each other. It can occur with different materials, such as the sole of a shoe on a ca
Styrofoam peanuts clinging to a cat's fur due to static electricity
Generator built by Francis Hauksbee
Static wicks on a Winglet Airbus A319-132
Antistatic belts on a car in Russia in 2014
Lightning
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Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with
Triboelectric effect
…can contribute (together with the waterfall effect) to separation of positive hydrogen ions and negative hydroxide ions, leading to static charge and lightning. A third class is associated with contact potential differences between liquids or gases and other materials, similar to the work function differences…
Strokes of cloud-to-ground lightning strike the Mediterranean Sea off of Port-la-Nouvelle in southern France.
A bolt from the blue lightning strike which appears to initiate from a clear patch of sky, but the turbulent sky above the anvil cloud drives a bolt of plasma through the cloud directly to the ground. They are commonly referred to as positive flashes, despite the fact that they are usually negative in polarity.
Multiple paths of cloud-to-cloud lightning, Swifts Creek, Australia.
Intra-clouds lightning over the Baltic Sea.