Contact electrification of metals
- 17 January 1975
- journal article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
- Vol. 8 (1) , 53-63
- https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/8/1/013
Abstract
The author has measured the electrostatic charging of two metal bodies which have been brought into contact and then separated. The charge Q is found to be given by Q=C0Vc, where Vc is the contact potential difference and C0 is the 'contact capacitance'. A technique for measuring C0 is described, and it is shown that C0 is simply related to the height of surface asperities. The charge is not affected by the velocity of separation or by sliding during separation in contrast to the findings of previous investigations. Tunnelling of electrons during the initial stages of separation does not appreciably reduce the final charge.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Observation of Metal-Vacuum-Metal Tunneling, Field Emission, and the Transition RegionPhysical Review Letters, 1971
- The Volta effect as a cause of static electrificationProceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 1951