The familiar phenomenon has puzzled researchers for centuries, but experiments are finally making sense of its unruly ...

If you’ve ever felt a shock after rubbing your hair with a balloon or shuffling across a carpet, you’ll know that static ...

When particles in volcanic ash cloud rub together, some pick up positive charge and others negative – now physicists have ...

Seemingly random charging of identical materials depends on the carbonaceous molecules stuck to their surfaces ...

There’s a shocking lack of understanding of the physics underlying this commonplace phenomenon, but researchers are on the ...

Two microscopic grains collide and produce a tiny spark. This phenomenon may have provided the energy to kick off life on ...

Learn more about the nearly invisible layer of carbon that may control how dust grains become electrically charged and how ...