Static electricity - Principles. Problems. Applications

Static electricity phenomena are often poorly understood by engineers, even if they are electricians or electronics specialists. In fact, in electrostatics, we have to reason on the basis of constant charge quantities, whereas we are generally more familiar with sources of constant voltage (V) or constant current ( I). In addition, the influence of external factors such as humidity or the presence of traces of impurities often makes these phenomena difficult to interpret, giving them a somewhat mysterious character. The notions of conductors and insulators also take on a different meaning in electrostatics than they do in the classical fields of electrical engineering.

To help you better understand these phenomena, after reviewing the basic concepts of electrostatics 1 , we will describe the origin of the phenomenon known as electrification 3 . We will then draw up an inventory of the nuisances and dangers of static electricity 4 , which affect virtually all industries. We will then describe how to combat this harmful static electricity (§ 5