To browse past columns, click on the links below. Charging by Walking Walking on an insulative floor covering produces a predictable charge. Predicting the level of static build-up is rarely possible.
Most people are unaware of the important applications that are based on electrostatic principles.
Well, I believe that if there is a difference, it's mostly historical. If a conductor is placed in an electric field, charges will move within the conductor until the interior field is zero. The answer common to both of these seemingly paradoxical questions is yes, if we're dealing with the concept of induction. At one level the question makes sense. In 1795, Charles-Augustin de Coulomb observed that an insulated charged body exposed to atmospheric air would gradually lose its charge.