Physics

Static electricity is a mystery, and scientists are all charged up

Despite being studied for centuries, the phenomenon remains a sticky subject

A colorful illustration of static electricity: a fingertip approaches a curved surface, sending bright, glowing streaks of light arcing across the gap between them. The scene is rendered in vivid pink, blue and yellow tones, with a grainy texture.

Illustration by Simone Noronha

By Emily Conover

Galien Grosjean was a caretaker of tiny glass beads. He bathed them, gently cradled them with tweezers, placed them delicately in his experimental apparatus. He avoided unneeded jostling at all costs: Subtle mishandling could alter the beads’ properties in unknown ways. And, even worse, losing just one could cost him a week’s worth of work.