static electricity

noun, Electricity

a stationary electric charge built up on an insulating material.

Origin

1875-80

Examples from the web for static electricity

Volcanic-ash clouds contain a lot of static electricity.
Chemical electrodes of this sort can store a lot more energy than the static electricity of a capacitor.
Inside the machine is a drum, charged with static electricity, that attracts toner particles.
If you don't, in wintertime you'll get shocks of static electricity when you touch your machine.
Then, even the smallest spark, probably static electricity.
static electricity ignites a storage tank, forcing a community evacuation.
When you rub up and down with each of the pieces or cloth, fur or plastic, you create static electricity.
In a storm cloud, the moving air makes tiny water droplets and ice rub together so they become charged with static electricity.
Discharge your static electricity before fueling by touching a metal surface away from the nozzle.
When a bit of static electricity collects up on a surface, all the build-up is the same kind: all positive or all negative.

static electricity in Science

static electricity
Electric charge that has accumulated on an object. Static electricity is often created when two objects that are not good electrical conductors are rubbed together, and electrons from one of the objects rub off onto the other. This happens, for example, when combing one's hair or taking off a sweater. Sudden releases of built-up static electricity can take the form of an electric arc. See Note at electric charge.

static electricity in Culture

static electricity definition

An electrical charge that accumulates on an object when it is rubbed against another object — for example, the spark that jumps from someone's hand to a doorknob after the person has walked across a rug.