# What was Static Electricity called long ago? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 18, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-static-electricity-called-long-ago/149484 "2003-01-18T16:20:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-static-electricity-called-long-ago/149484/1 "2003-01-18T16:20:24Z")
Just saw the question about what temperature static electricity is, and it got me wondering what it was called in the days before we knew about static electricity. Was it simply a “spark”? Did it freak them out in any sort of metaphysical way? ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-static-electricity-called-long-ago/149484/2 "2003-01-18T17:53:38Z")
And what does my cat think it is when I go to pet him and shock him…does he think shooting electricity from my hand is just another one of my magical abilities? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-static-electricity-called-long-ago/149484/3 "2003-01-18T20:08:45Z")
Besides, [this guy](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=www.trinity.ox.ac.uk/ian.yeung/emperor.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.trinity.ox.ac.uk/ian.yeung/pics.html&h=279&w=400&prev=/images%3Fq%3Demperor%2Bstar%2Bwars%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN) has some SERIOUS static electricity problems. ---
**Author:** ![vertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3ec8ea/32.png) [@vertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertigo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-static-electricity-called-long-ago/149484/4 "2003-01-18T20:18:39Z")
It wasn’t called anything back then, as electricity hadn’t been invented yet 😉 ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-static-electricity-called-long-ago/149484/5 "2003-01-18T21:05:08Z")
Electricity comes from the Greek word “elektron”, which means amber. When you rub amber and wool, electrons are transfered, and static electricity is generated. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-static-electricity-called-long-ago/149484/6 "2003-01-18T21:16:32Z")
Lightning. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-static-electricity-called-long-ago/149484/7 "2003-01-18T22:58:33Z")
Yeah… but i’m talking about the zap people would get when discharging themselves all over the doorknob :eek: … Sorry I didn’t make that clear in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![bbeaty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@bbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbeaty)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-static-electricity-called-long-ago/149484/8 "2003-01-18T23:09:57Z")
A few hundred years ago it was called… ELECTRICITY (duh) Then C. DuFay renamed it in the early 1700s: Vitreous Electricity (from rubbing glass) Resinous Electricity (from rubbing amber) I’ve heard one sensible story about ancient “electricity.” People once commonly used amber for buttons and jewelry, and they noticed that pieces of lint would jump to it. Since very few ancient peoples had clean dry carpeting or rubber-soled shoes, (to say nothing of steel filing cabinets), they probably weren’t aware of shoe-scuffing and finger sparks. ---
**Author:** ![bbeaty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@bbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbeaty)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-static-electricity-called-long-ago/149484/9 "2003-01-18T23:21:29Z")
PS Check out this one: [http://iweb.tntech.edu/chem281-tf/Faraday.htm](http://iweb.tntech.edu/chem281-tf/Faraday.htm) Michael Faraday called it “Common Electricity” rather than “static electricity.” His article showed that “electricity” from batteries, friction, thermocouples, and electric eels was all the same kind of stuff. In other words, since the time of Faraday we have known that there is only one “kind” of electricity (although it comes in positive and negative polarities.) Faraday showed that Static Electricity from friction and Current Electricity from batteries were the same thing, only with different values of voltage and current.