摩擦摩擦！静电充电

杨艳鑫

1.shuffle v. 拖着脚走;坐立不安

2.ubiquitous adj. 普遍存在的

3.numerical adj. 用数字表示的;数字的

4.friction n. 摩擦

Have you ever had your hair stand up straight after putting on a shirt fresh from the dryer？ Or have you ever been shocked by a door handle after shuffling your feet over the carpet？ Of course you have， because static electricity is all around us. Its a phenomenon so ubiquitous that we dont often think too much about it.

But scientists are starting to think more about it， especially in regard to our electronic devices， reports Science Daily. What if we could use the power of the static electricity all around us， to power our devices？ Its a question thats surprisingly difficult to answer， in part because we know less than you might think about this phenomenon.

“Nearly everyone has zapped （打击） their finger on a doorknob （球形门拉手） or seen childs hair stick to a balloon. To incorporate this energy into our electronics， we must better understand the driving forces behind it，” said James Chen， PhD， and co⁃author of a recent study on the causes of static electricity.

Chens theory is that it has something to do with tiny structural changes that occur at the surface of materials when they come into contact with each other. To test what happens at this microscopic scale， Chen and his team are developing nano?materials that can not only measure whats happening on the tiniest structural levels， but which are potentially capable of controlling and harvesting static electricity as it forms. The early results are promising.

“The idea our study presents directly answers this ancient mystery， and it has the potential to unify the existing theory. The numerical results are consistent with the published experimental observations，” said Chen.

“The friction between your fingers and your smartphone screen， the friction between your wrist and smart watch， even the friction between your shoe and the ground. These are great potential sources of energy that we can tap （利用） into，” said Chen. “Eventually， this research can increase our economic security and help society by reducing our need for conventional sources of power.”

1.Which of the following can produce static electricity？

A.Putting feet over the carpet.

B.Sticking childrens hair to the balloon.

C.Wearing smart watch on the wrist.

D.Slipping fingers over the smartphone screen.

2.Whats the main idea of the text？

A.The introduction to a new power.

B.The importance of static electricity.

C.The research about using the static electricity in our devices.

D.The significance of reducing the conventional sources of power.

Ⅰ.Important vocabulary in the text

1.phenomenon n. 现象

2.incorporate v. 包含;吸收

3.promising adj. 有希望的;有前途的

4.consistent adj. 一致的;相符的

5.observation n. 观察;观测

6.in regard to 至于;关于

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences.

1.如果我们能利用我们周围的静电为我们的设备供电，那会怎么样？

we could use the power of the static electricity all around us， to power our devices？

2.我们的研究提出的观点直接回答了这个古老的谜团，它有可能统一现有的理论。

The idea our study presents directly answers this ancient mystery， and unify the existing theory.