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Have you ever felt like you were electrocuted when you come into contact with other people? Relax, you are not alone. Many people report an electric shock-like sensation when they touch someone else's skin or clothes. What you really feel is the impact of electrostatic conductance. However, certain people do feel it more often shock when touched. Why is that, huh? Immediately, find out the answer below.
How can someone shock when touched?
Without you knowing it, the human body is a natural electric field. In the body, electricity functions to regulate various organ functions, from the brain to the heart. The electricity in your body comes from atoms which are made up of three main elements, namely protons, electrons and neutrons. Protons contain a positive charge, electrons contain a negative charge, and neutrons contain a neutral charge.
Under ideal conditions, an atom contains an equal number of positive and negative charges. However, if the atoms in your shell have excess electrons, you will conduct a negative charge. Vice versa if you have excess protons.
You may still remember science lessons in school, that negative charge always moves toward positive charge. The meeting and transfer of these two charges causes a static reaction such as an electric shock.
So, if your shell atom has excess electrons and you come in contact with someone who has an excess proton, your negative charge will react with someone else's positive charge. This is what makes you feel like the person shock when touched.
The factors that make a person feel shock
After understanding how a person's skin conducts static electricity, you may wonder why certain people feel it more often shock when touched. Apparently, there are several factors that can make the atoms in a person's body unbalance the levels of protons and electrons. Check out these factors below.
- Walk while shuffling. When you drag your feet, the friction between your feet and the floor can move a lot of electrons in your feet. Meanwhile, protons from your body move to the floor or ground. As a result, the atoms in the body are not balanced because most of the negative charge from the electrons.
- Wear shoes with rubber soles. Rubber soles tend to conduct static electricity more easily. To avoid static shock, try to choose shoes with soles made of leather.
- Clothing made of wool, polyester (synthetic fiber), or silk. Be careful if you are wearing jackets or clothes made of wool, synthetic fibers, or silk. These textile materials are susceptible to causing an unbalanced number of protons and electrons.
- Dry skin. Those of you who have dry skin may often experience sensations shock when touched by others. This is because dry skin can release electrons easily. Your skin also becomes overloaded with positivity and will react when it comes in contact with people who are overloaded negatively.
- Sit on a plastic chair. Sitting on a plastic chair too long can make you vulnerable to electrostatic discharge. The friction between your clothes and the plastic surface can cause the atoms in your body to excess protons. To avoid this reaction if you have to sit for a long time on a plastic chair, choose cotton clothing because the load is neutral.
- Cold and dry air. Being in a cold open or air-conditioned room will make the atom lose its balance of protons and electrons. Meanwhile, warm or humid air can bind the excess charges, keeping the atoms around you in balance.
