Permanent Static

Some days ago I've received into my possession a child's blanket around 3ft X 4ft in surface area. It feels like it's made of cotton with some elastic material of some sort. Now, I noticed that the blanket has some strange properties of static electricity, so much so that if I drop a piece of lint at a distance of a foot to 2 feet away from it the lint will fly sideways thru the air and stick to it like a magnet. I've had coats in the past that would get temporary static charges, but nothing like this. This blanket has a permanent static charge, the most powerful static charge I have ever seen. Can anyone explain this? Could it be contaminated with some thing dangerous that would cause this static attraction? Anyone?

reply to post by Asynchrony


Hide it, and you should hide too because its a FREE energy device, and anyone with one of those....has an accident!

Could you post more details about the blanket? Who makes it etc..

This may look easy as a question but... did you use fabric softener? It beats the crap outta permanent static, I can tell you that much!

Asynchrony
This blanket has a permanent static charge, the most powerful static charge I have ever seen. Can anyone explain this? Could it be contaminated with some thing dangerous that would cause this static attraction? Anyone?

Somewhere on the blanket is a tag telling you what it's made of. You'll find it's got polyester in, most likely. That is where your static is coming from.

What you can do is get a can of Static Guard and give it a spray after you wash it. No more problems. You might also try adding a cup of white vinegar to the wash, for some blankys that's a fix.

Don't use fabric softener. It removes the fire retardant from the blanket. Of course, if you've already been adding fabric softener, it's too late and you might as well keep doing it.

Also you might get a blanky that's all bamboo or cotton with no artificial fibers in at all, and you won't have any static issues.

VoidHawk
reply to post by Asynchrony

 

Hide it, and you should hide too because its a FREE energy device, and anyone with one of those....has an accident!

You couldn't make a free energy device out of a permanent static charge any more than you can with a magnet, and for the same reason - the equations for force related to proximity are symmetric. It takes as much energy to separate from it as it does attracting, or vice versa. So, no net energy.

There actually ARE permanent static charged objects, it's the electric field version of a magnet. I'm actually surprised someone hasn't made up a scam device based on them yet, probably because they are little known.

I made one as a kid. You can do it too - all you need is a high voltage power supply (I used a TV chassis from a set with a broken CRT), a slab of Plexiglas, some aluminum foil and a toaster oven you can mangle up. Basically, you attach foil to the top and bottom of the plastic sheet, put it in the toaster oven and apply a HV field whilst heating the plastic to near melting. It will rotate the dipoles of the material to align with the external field, and when it cools they are trapped in that position. You then have a permanent charge. Take them out, wrap them in foil and let them sit for a few months to "cure" if you want them to last longer. Some electrets work by dipole freezing, others by trapped sub-surface charges.

The class of device is called an electret. I suppose you can buy them somewhere but most people who want to fiddle with them make their own, afaik.

Bedlam

VoidHawk
reply to post by Asynchrony

 

Hide it, and you should hide too because its a FREE energy device, and anyone with one of those....has an accident!

You couldn't make a free energy device out of a permanent static charge any more than you can with a magnet

Holy crap!!! That was a joke! LOL

reply to post by Asynchrony

Spit, urinate or pour bubbly bottled water on it.

Report back with the results.

VoidHawk

Bedlam

VoidHawk
reply to post by Asynchrony

 

Hide it, and you should hide too because its a FREE energy device, and anyone with one of those....has an accident!

You couldn't make a free energy device out of a permanent static charge any more than you can with a magnet

Holy crap!!! That was a joke! LOL

And you got double mileage out of it!

I needed that.

nugget1

VoidHawk

Bedlam

VoidHawk
reply to post by Asynchrony

 

Hide it, and you should hide too because its a FREE energy device, and anyone with one of those....has an accident!

You couldn't make a free energy device out of a permanent static charge any more than you can with a magnet

Holy crap!!! That was a joke! LOL

And you got double mileage out of it!

I needed that.

And you found out about electrets. Can't do that over at BIN.

reply to post by VoidHawk


Is that a jab at ATSers like me?! Lol.

I really like a blanket with lots of static. I use one that does that, and it's fun shaking it around a little and see and hear the tiny lightning bolts (lightning is just static electricity). Why don't you like it? I read some posters here calling it a problem, and that's the first time I've thought that others thought of it as a problem. Send me your best static blankets, I'll take 'em.

Lotsa static. Hahaha. No manufacturers tag. Maybe I'll start a powerplant.