# Man builds up a 40,000-volt charge of static electricity in his clothes **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 16, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966 "2005-09-16T14:40:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/1 "2005-09-16T14:40:43Z")
[How can this be?](http://reuters.excite.com/article/20050916/2005-09-16T143042Z_01_EIC652134_RTRIDST_0_ODD-AUSTRALIA-ELECTRICITY-DC.html) > [@](#): > > An Australian man built up a 40,000-volt charge of static electricity in his clothes as he walked, leaving a trail of scorched carpet and molten plastic and forcing firefighters to evacuate a building. > … > “We tested his clothes with a static electricity field meter and measured a current of 40,000 volts, which is one step shy of spontaneous combustion, where his clothes would have self-ignited,” Barton said. > > “I’ve been firefighting for over 35 years and I’ve never come across anything like this,” he said. I guess that’s what he gets for mixing fibers. Wool and nylon, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/2 "2005-09-16T14:49:53Z")
I call BS. I didn’t realize firefighters carried along a volt meter as part of their equipment. Certainly not one that’s capable of measuring potential in the 10’s of thousands of volts. Plus with that kind of static charge built up, the dude would have had to discharge it the second he touched a door handle. Assuming his shoes were some kind of super fantastic insulator and kept the charge from being grounded as he walked. As for the jacket they keep stored at the firestation… I think it’ll require exorcism. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/3 "2005-09-16T14:51:39Z")
That’s really a poorl-written, and badly-researched article. It’s trivial to develop a 20,000-40,000 volt static charge. A typic static shock you get from scuffing your feet over a shag carpet in the winter easily falls within that range. Current is measured in amperes, not volts. I also find the bit about the static electicity meter to be suspicious. There is no reason for firefighters to have such a piece of equipment at hand, AFAIK. I think the story is bunk. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/4 "2005-09-16T14:55:38Z")
> [@](#): > > I call BS. That’s kinda what I thought, too. But I thought I’d check in with you fine people to see if I thought wrong. I love being right! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/5 "2005-09-16T14:59:05Z")
When I was a kid, I used to take out a book from the library on static electricity, filled with experiments. One of them was “How to build up a charge of 20,000 Volts”. You stand on an insulator, and someone rubs the appropriate fur or whatever on you. Yet get a big violtage, as you can verify with the electrometer you’ve built. You step off the insulator, and it all goes to ground. You don’t get hurt, and the carpet doesn’t scorch, because there’s practically no current. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/6 "2005-09-16T16:03:04Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > That’s really a poorl-written, … Yeah… 🙂 Oh, come on! You can’t really expect this to sneak under the radar. Not here. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/7 "2005-09-16T17:30:26Z")
What really shocked me (groan) about this blurb was that NPR played it as their bottom-of-the-hour bit on “Morning Edition” today, with the “current of 40,000 volts” error intact. I was going to write a letter to their editor but I figure they’ve probably already heard all of this and more by now. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/8 "2005-09-16T20:34:29Z")
Does anyone have the real scoop on this article? The article reads like it was written for the Weekly World News or some such. Did someone make this up as a hoax to see how far they could pass it off through the regular news services? Has anyone printed a retraction yet? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/9 "2005-09-16T20:43:07Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Oh, come on! You can’t really expect this to sneak under the radar. Not here. Feh, I say! Feh! ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/10 "2005-09-17T02:09:37Z")
Even _I_ knew current is measured in amps, and I barely scraped through 5th form physics. Someone’s been watching too many X-Men movies. And WTF is a “Static Electricity Field Meter”? A voltmeter? An ammeter? Something Batman just made? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/11 "2005-09-17T02:13:05Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > And WTF is a “Static Electricity Field Meter”? Well, they mangled the name of the instrument, as with most of the other facts in the story, but they probably meant an electrostatic voltmeter, which is used to measure high-voltage electric charges. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/12 "2005-09-17T03:34:09Z")
I feel this story has not been trashed enough. > [@](#): > > … 40,000 volts, which is one step shy of spontaneous combustion. Okay spontaneous combustion does exist (as opposed to spontaneous _human_ combustion). But how do they know know the appropriate _voltage_ (???) at which it occurs? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/13 "2005-09-17T03:39:33Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > But how do they know know the appropriate _voltage_ (???) at which it occurs? Worse still, what do they mean by “one step shy”? A common demonstration in physics classes involves charging up a person by having him touch the dome of a Van de Graff generator, making his hair stand on end. Thse can easily charge you to a voltage of up to several _hundred thousand_ volts with no ill effects. To my knowlege, no one participating in such a demostration has ever burst into flames. To go from 40,000 up to 100,000 or more is one big step. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/14 "2005-09-17T03:41:47Z")
[Callow Doubters!](http://www.thetick.ws/wavs/ep6/nothing.wav) ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/15 "2005-09-17T03:45:11Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Well, they mangled the name of the instrument, as with most of the other facts in the story, but they probably meant an , which is used to measure high-voltage electric charges. That’s a “1920’s style electrostatic voltmeter”. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/16 "2005-09-17T03:50:21Z")
Well, you gotta calibrate the field coil on your death ray, don’t ya know? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/17 "2005-09-17T03:59:06Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > I feel this story has not been trashed enough. > > Okay spontaneous combustion does exist (as opposed to spontaneous _human_ combustion). But how do they know know the appropriate _voltage_ (???) at which it occurs? That is of course dependent upon the amount of ethanol a person’s body contains. It was once calculated that Foster Brooks could spontaneously combust if he’d change the battery in a smoke detector. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/18 "2005-09-17T04:25:06Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > To my knowlege, no one participating in such a demostration has ever burst into flames. Dolts! Ignoramuses! They dared to question _me_! _I_, who had explored beyond the farthest reaches of God’s creation and unlocked the realms of the unknown. Purblind asses - who were _they_ to tell _me_ that there are some things man was not meant to set on fire? And so they mocked and shunned me - I was forced to resign my Chair in Tampering With The Unknown, and driven into exile. But they shall pay! Oh, yes. Soon they shall _all_ pay! {Lightning flashes, thunder rolls} Bwahahahahooha! ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/19 "2005-09-17T04:36:27Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > Dolts! Ignoramuses! They dared to question _me_! _I_, who had explored beyond the farthest reaches of God’s creation and unlocked the realms of the unknown. Purblind asses - who were _they_ to tell _me_ that there are some things man was not meant to set on fire? And so they mocked and shunned me - I was forced to resign my Chair in Tampering With The Unknown, and driven into exile. But they shall pay! Oh, yes. Soon they shall _all_ pay! {Lightning flashes, thunder rolls} Bwahahahahooha! There’s an Endowed Chair “For Tampering with The Unknown”? Who knew?! ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966/20 "2005-09-17T04:48:10Z")
**Q.E.D.** \* Worse still, what do they mean by “one step shy”?\* Wow, I guess that must be an industry term used by the firefighting cognoscenti. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-builds-up-a-40-000-volt-charge-of-static-electricity-in-his-clothes/321966.md?page=2)