![]() This gang war was quelled by the assembled kids being doused by the mutagen Quantum Juice, resulting in several of those present gaining superpowers. In the original Milestone run, Virgil and Francis were in opposing high school gangs, with Virgil falling into his crew after being bullied relentlessly by Francis and his friends. Though the Hawkins family is evidently able to escape from their home without any discernible long lasting physical harm, the house itself appears irreparably destroyed by the raging inferno as the family watches heartbroken and Francis laughs cruelly at what he has inflicted on them. As the two super-powered teenagers face off, the crossfire from their showdown results in Virgil's house being set ablaze. Francis now displays pyrokinetic powers, evidently gained from the mysterious mutagen in the tear gas, and demands that Virgil come outside and face him. But they're only moderately effective.As Virgil and his family contemplate how they should best address Virgil's burgeoning electric powers, they are confronted by Francis at their own home. "The ionizers prevent static electricity buildup. ![]() "They can neutralize the charge on a person," Hubing explained. As they float around the room searching for balance, the electrons match up with their opposites. ![]() The machines fill the air in a room with some molecules that are missing electrons, and some that have too many electrons, called ions. Manufacturing plants can also use air ionizers to settle electron behavior. Technicians might wear wrist straps that are attached to the floor with a metal wire, sending extra electrons out of the room and into the ground. Some manufacturing workers are required to abide by strict clothing regulations, avoiding sweaters and hats that might encourage static. Dryer sheets work similarly, coating tumbling clothes with a conductive substance. On humid days, shocks are less common because a thin layer of water molecules coats most surfaces, which allows electrons to flow more freely and makes almost everything conductive and static-free.Ī spritz of water can help untangle skirts and calm repulsive hair. Humidifying the air helps cut down static electricity.Įlectrons build up more easily in dry places. Static electricity causes problems for electronics manufacturers, because a strong charge can damage electronic components such as video game cartridges. Similar to thunder, the pop sound is the result of air rapidly expanding and collapsing. The electrifying light show works just like a lightning bolt. "The voltage is high enough that when you're about an inch apart, it causes the air to break down and it creates a spark," Hubing explained.įrom the impact of your voltage, the air between your hand and the knob grows extremely hot and instantly turns to plasma, a fourth state of matter that differs from solids, liquids, or gases. When you reach for a positively charged doorknob, electrons flee and you get zapped. Even though they were attracted to you in the first place, they don't like to hang around for long and they're always looking for a way out. That's serious power at your fingertips, considering a normal electrical outlet on the wall is only around 100 volts of electricity.Įlectrons are like fickle friends. You end up with a high voltage, about 20,000 to 25,000 volts." ![]() "Eventually more electrons don't want to come up on you because you're so charged up. "As you keep walking across the floor, you become full of electrons," said Todd Hubing, from the Electromagnetic Compatibility Laboratory at the University of Missouri-Rolla. ![]() So more electrons make the leap to your foot. The next time you put your foot on the carpet, your shoe doesn't have any extra electrons, but your head might. When you stride across a wool carpet in leather shoes, your shoes pick up extra electrons from the carpet with each step.īy the time you lift your foot up off the ground, the electrons will have spread around your entire body, giving you a negative charge. At even more disparate ends of a series, the friction of rabbit's fur on a Teflon pan generates additional electricity. Rubbing objects far from each other on the list creates a bigger charge than objects closer together.įor example, polishing a glass plate with a silk scarf electrifies the scarf so that it acts like a magnet. The lower an item sits on the list, the more likely it will attract more electrons and become negatively charged. Materials can be catalogued in order of their tendency to become charged, from positive to negative. In 600 B.C., the Greek philosopher Thales observed that some combinations of materials have more potential to make sparks fly than others. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |