Hair-Raising: How Carbon Contamination Can Drive Static Charging

Electrically-Charged Dust Creates Hazards on Mars and the Moon — an Invisible Carbon Layer May Explain Why

Learn more about the nearly invisible layer of carbon that may control how dust grains become electrically charged and how that discovery could help future missions to the moon and Mars.

Hair-raising: how carbon contamination can drive static charging

Objects made from the same insulator can sometimes acquire different charges when rubbed together, owing to a thin layer of carbon-based material on the object’s surface. Objects made from the same insulator can sometimes acquire different charges when rubbed together, owing to a thin layer of carbon-based material on the object’s surface.