Last update:

Why petting your cat leads to static electricity

Anyone who has ever pet a cat or shuffled their feet across the carpet knows that rubbing objects together generates static electricity. But an explanation for this phenomenon has eluded researchers for more than two millennia.

More news

Nanomaterials
Fluorescent nanomaterial could transform how we visualize fingerprints
Nanophysics
An unprecedented feat: Printing 3D photonic crystals that completely block light
Nanomaterials
Researchers develop proton barrier films using pore-free graphene oxide
Nanomaterials
Novel coupled nanopore platform offers greater precision for detecting molecules
Bio & Medicine
Hyperspectral microscopy reveals the nanostructures that give butterflies their colors
Bio & Medicine
Iron-doped carbon-based nanoparticles boost cancer treatment with enhanced precision and safety
Bio & Medicine
Diagnostic test that combines two technologies with machine learning could lead to new paradigm for at-home testing
Nanomaterials
Atomic diffusion technique could lead to mass production of metal nanowires
Bio & Medicine
Experimental nanomedicine delivers chemo drugs directly to tumors in mice
Bio & Medicine
High-throughput biosensor measures metabolite levels that indicate disease
Bio & Medicine
Novel quantum dot hydrogel shows improved photothermal conversion efficiency
Bio & Medicine
Silver nanoparticles and a new sensing method can fight back against antibiotic-resistant biofilms
Nanomaterials
Open-source software helps streamline 2D materials research with scanning tunneling microscope automation
Bio & Medicine
New mass spectrometry technology could transform tiny sample analysis
Nanomaterials
Unraveling the fundamental principles of eutectic solidification with real-time, nanoscale imaging
Bio & Medicine
Separating viruses from saliva with sound waves for therapeutic studies
Nanomaterials
Research team achieves high-resolution 2D imaging for graphene devices under high pressure
Bio & Medicine
New molecular engineering technique allows for complex organoids
Nanomaterials
Nanoscale silver exhibits intrinsic self-healing abilities without external intervention
Bio & Medicine
Low-cost nanomaterial technology can detect cancer genes with ultra-high sensitivity

Other news

Social Sciences
The relationship between emotions and economic decision-making differ across countries, multi-national analysis finds
Plants & Animals
Moderate levels of exotic species invasions may help maintain biodiversity, study suggests
Earth Sciences
Explaining dramatic planetwide changes after world's last 'Snowball Earth' event
Earth Sciences
Scientists can now predict catastrophic river shifts that threaten millions worldwide
Earth Sciences
Study reveals that future climate change may reduce the Amazon rainforest's ability to act as a carbon sink
Astrobiology
Detailed model suggests organic matter on Mars was formed from atmospheric formaldehyde
Social Sciences
Aversion to inequality drives support for redistribution policies, study finds
Analytical Chemistry
New computational insights use Marcus theory to unlock the potential of photocatalysis
Astronomy
Observations provide crucial insights into the nature of a white dwarf–brown dwarf binary
Earth Sciences
Tropical cyclone intensity exacerbated by increasing depth of ocean mixed layer, finds study
General Physics
Findings hint at a superfluid phase in ²⁹F and ²⁸O
Astrobiology
Could interstellar quantum communications involve Earth or solve the Fermi paradox?
Earth Sciences
Arctic warming may fuel ice formation in clouds, observations suggest
Earth Sciences
New research re-envisions Earth's mantle as a relatively uniform reservoir
Ecology
New technique zeros in on the genes that snakes use to produce venom
Molecular & Computational biology
Gene-based model predicts when Japan's cherry buds awake from dormancy
Astronomy
Astronomers discover biggest ever seen black hole jets, which blast hot plasma well beyond their own host galaxy
Biotechnology
New kit makes classroom CRISPR experiments affordable and accessible
Earth Sciences
Rugged Falklands landscape was once a lush rainforest, researchers say
Social Sciences
Can toddlers help explain the origins of our bias for wealth?