The hazards of static electricity cannot be ignored. Please keep this winter anti-static guide!

Static electricity is always around us, and most of the time people don't feel it strongly. Studies have shown that the static voltage generated by the human body can be as high as tens of thousands of volts. However, except for bringing a brief painful feeling at the moment of static release, it doesn't cause fundamental harm to the human body. This is because although the static voltage generated by human body friction is high enough, the current is only at the microampere level, and the duration is very short, only a few milliseconds. Without continuous current, there will be no electric shock accidents.

To visually show how high the static voltage can reach in life, in the Static Electricity Laboratory of the China Petroleum Safety and Environmental Protection Technology Institute, researchers used a static voltage measuring instrument to test the common static voltages in winter. The results of the measuring instrument showed that when putting on or taking off down jackets in winter, after the lining and sweaters rubbed against each other, the static voltage on the down jackets could reach about 18,000 volts at most; after combing hair with a comb, the static voltage on the comb could reach about 19,000 volts; and after rubbing a balloon against the hair, the static voltage on the hair could also reach 4,200 volts.

Although static electricity hardly causes direct harm to the human body, it's not the case in some special environments. According to a case released by the China Emergency Information Network, in January 2021, at a gas station in Shaoyang, Hunan Province, a car owner was wearing pajamas made of chemical fiber materials. Coupled with the dry climate in winter, when the car owner touched the fuel tank cap, the static electricity accumulated on the hand was discharged instantaneously. The energy of the generated electric spark reached the minimum ignition energy of the oil vapor, igniting the accumulated oil and gas near the fuel tank opening and forming a flame.

Static electricity phenomena are common in winter, and they may also cause accidents such as fires in special environments. So how should we do a good job in prevention? Especially how to prevent accidents such as fires caused by static electricity?

When the reporter searched for keywords related to anti-static on the Internet, all kinds of "magic weapons" for eliminating static electricity appeared. There are laundry detergents and fabric softeners, as well as anti-static sprays that claim to have "long-term anti-static effects", and wireless anti-static wristbands that use "negative ions" to eliminate static electricity. Are these anti-static products really effective?

Regarding these questions, Dr. Xu Huan and Professor Pi Wei from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering of North China Electric Power University gave answers. Fabric softeners, anti-static sprays and wireless anti-static wristbands sold online can reduce static electricity to some extent in a short time, but they cannot play the fundamental role of discharging static charges.

The two experts said that in daily life, the fundamental way to eliminate static electricity lies in reducing and eliminating the environment and causes of static electricity generation. One of the common methods is to use a humidifier to increase air humidity.

In addition, the experts reminded that in spaces where explosive mixtures, combustible gases and combustibles exist, such as when using self-service fuel dispensers, special attention should be paid to preventing the generation of static electricity to avoid dangerous situations.