I was reading around about the Radio Frequency and its effect on the GAS/Petrol forecourts, suddenly i came across something posted by someone,
"I personally went on a trip with some friends, one who received a nasty shock every time he tried to enter the car. Since he was the only one receiving these shocks I theorize that the source of his shocks were the shoes he was wearing. I told him to hold his key out toward the door and a spark jumped between the key and the body of the car. This prevented him from receiving the painful shock. But I could see how this could also ignite a gas fire."
I couldn't understand how the static electricity could cause the shock from the car ? and how could be the source of this is Shoes ? and how holding the key could prevent someone from this shock ?
Best Answer
Shoes which isolate something will allow the build-up of electricity.
Rubber tires are usually not conductive although special ones are being manufactured to make them conductive for sensitive situations such as delivering gas. In the USA they are marked 'UL'. Since it was a car it's a near certainty that they were not conductive.
Therefore the material above the shoes and the material above the tires will build up a high potential difference in a relatively short time and at a different rate if the mass is different.
If there is a potential difference between two items and a path to bridge them a current will flow to balance it with a spark if the p.d. is high enough.