Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Magnetic Field Due to Two Straight Wires

Magnetic Field Due to Two Straight Wires

Consider two parallel straight wires carrying a current of 10 A and 20 A in the same direction and separated by a distance of 20 cm. Calculate the magnetic field at a point "P2", midway between the wires. Also, evaluate the magnetic field when the direction of the current is reversed in the second wire.

Magnetic Field Due To A Thin Straight Wire

Magnetic Field Due To A Thin Straight Wire

Consider an infinitely long straight wire carrying a current I. The magnetic field at point P at a distance a from the origin can be calculated using the Biot-Savart law.

Charging Conductors By Induction

Charging Conductors By Induction

The Earth is a good conductor of electricity, and it is so big that it can be considered an infinite source or sink of charges. It can easily exchange charges with any matter.
Generally, conductors like metals do not allow any excess charge to be present on them. Any excess charge added to metals easily flows away, for example, when a metal is placed on the Earth. This process is called earthing.
However, conductors can be charged by a process called induction. For example, consider charging a...

Electric Field at the Surface of a Conductor

Electric Field at the Surface of a Conductor

Consider a conductor in electrostatic equilibrium. The net electric field inside a conductor vanishes, and extra charges on the conductor reside on its outer surface, regardless of where they originate.
In the 19th century, Michael Faraday conducted the famous ice pail experiment to prove that the charges always reside on the surface of a conductor. The experimental set-up consists of a conducting uncharged container mounted on an insulating stand. The outer surface of the container is...

Induced Electric Fields: Applications

Induced Electric Fields: Applications

An important distinction exists between the electric field induced by a changing magnetic field and the electrostatic field produced by a fixed charge distribution. Specifically, the induced electric field is nonconservative because it does not work in moving a charge over a closed path. In contrast, the electrostatic field is conservative and does no net work over a closed path. Hence, electric potential can be associated with the electrostatic field but not the induced field. The following...

Equipotential Surfaces and Conductors

Equipotential Surfaces and Conductors

For a conductor in which all charges are at rest, the conductor's surface is equipotential. The electric field is always perpendicular to equipotential surfaces. Therefore, in a conductor with static charges, the electric field just outside the conductor is always perpendicular to the conductor's surface. Any tangential component of the electric field will cause charges to move inside the conductor, which will violate the electrostatic nature of the system. In an electrostatic...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Hydrogen Bond Networks for Stable and Sustainable Production of Hydrogen From Seawater via Contact-Electro-Catalysis.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026

Same author

Triboelectric Spectroscopy for Identification of Metal Ion Valence States in Aqueous Solutions.

ACS nano·2026

Same author

Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution over Single-Atom Catalysts via Electrostatic Polarization in Contact-electro-catalysis.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Same author

A triboelectric radical generation route to chlorine disinfectants from brine.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Bioinspired Electrostatic-Field Perturbated Sensing for General Material Noncontact Perception.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026

Same author

Triboelectric Spectroscopy for In Situ Detection of Gas Molecules in Liquid.

ACS nano·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 24, 2025

A Polymer-based Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester with a 3D Meshed-Core Structure

A Polymer-based Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester with a 3D Meshed-Core Structure

Published on: February 20, 2019

Dynamic interfacial electrostatic energy harvesting via a single wire.

Lixia He^1,2, Yikui Gao^1,2, Di Liu^1,2

¹Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101400, P. R. China.

Science Advances

|June 12, 2024

Summary

Researchers developed a method to harvest electrostatic energy from breakdowns by embedding a wire under dielectric materials. This transforms irregular mechanical energy into usable electricity, enabling new power sources.

More Related Videos

AC Electrokinetic Phenomena Generated by Microelectrode Structures

AC Electrokinetic Phenomena Generated by Microelectrode Structures

Published on: July 28, 2008

Preparation of Janus Particles and Alternating Current Electrokinetic Measurements with a Rapidly Fabricated Indium Tin Oxide Electrode Array

Preparation of Janus Particles and Alternating Current Electrokinetic Measurements with a Rapidly Fabricated Indium Tin Oxide Electrode Array

Published on: June 23, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 24, 2025

A Polymer-based Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester with a 3D Meshed-Core Structure

A Polymer-based Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester with a 3D Meshed-Core Structure

Published on: February 20, 2019

AC Electrokinetic Phenomena Generated by Microelectrode Structures

AC Electrokinetic Phenomena Generated by Microelectrode Structures

Published on: July 28, 2008

Preparation of Janus Particles and Alternating Current Electrokinetic Measurements with a Rapidly Fabricated Indium Tin Oxide Electrode Array

Preparation of Janus Particles and Alternating Current Electrokinetic Measurements with a Rapidly Fabricated Indium Tin Oxide Electrode Array

Published on: June 23, 2017

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Energy Harvesting
Triboelectricity

Background:

Spontaneous electrostatic breakdown releases significant energy, but its harnessing is challenging due to irregularity and instantaneity.
Contact electrification generates chaotic electrostatic energy, hindering efficient energy capture.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose a revolutionary method for effectively harvesting energy from dynamic interfacial electrostatic breakdown.
To transform irregular mechanical energy into electricity using a novel approach.

Main Methods:

Embedding a conductive wire (25 micrometer diameter) beneath dielectric materials to regulate electrostatic energy.
Developing a point-charge physical model to explain power generation and guide structural design.
Establishing a quantified triboelectric series for 72 dielectric material pairs.

Main Results:

Successfully regulated chaotic electrostatic energy into aggregation, transforming mechanical energy into electricity.
Achieved a high voltage exceeding 10 kilovolts using polytetrafluoroethylene and polyethylene terephthalate.
Provided a physical model for understanding and enhancing output performance.

Conclusions:

The proposed method effectively harvests energy from dynamic interfacial electrostatic breakdown.
This work opens avenues for utilizing electrostatic energy, with applications in high-voltage power sources, smart clothing, and the Internet of Things.