Mysterious type of static electricity has a hidden culprit

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• frongt@lemmy.zip ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  identical materials with identical affinities can also exchange charges, seemingly without rhyme or reason. Particles in volcanic ash plumes somehow build up enough charge to trigger lightning; dust in grain silos can spark and explode. In a study published today in Nature, researchers say they have finally found the culprit: trace amounts of surface contamination by carbon-bearing molecules from the air.

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