摩擦摩擦！静电充电

西安外国语大学 杨艳鑫

静电是我们日常生活中常见的现象。早上梳头时，头发经常“飘”起来；晚上脱衣服会有噼啪的声响。但是，你听说过静电还可以充电吗？让我们跟着这篇文章来一探究竟吧。

题材文章词数科学技术332 难度 ★★★体裁建议用时说明文6′

海词积累

1.shufflev.拖着脚走；坐立不安

2.ubiquitousadj.普遍存在的

3.numericaladj.用数字表示的；数字的

4.frictionn.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 aftershufflingyour feet over the carpet?Of course you have，because static electricity is all around us.It's aphenomenonsoubiquitousthat we don't often think too much about it.

But scientists are starting to think more about it，especiallyin regard toour electronic devices，reportsScience Daily.What if we could use the power of the static electricity all around us，to power our devices?It's a question that's 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 child's hair stick to a balloon.Toincorporatethis 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.

Chen's 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 what's happening on the tiniest structural levels，but which are potentially capable of controlling and harvesting static electricity as it forms.The early results arepromising.

“The idea our study presents directly answers this ancient mystery，and it has the potential to unify the existing theory.Thenumericalresults areconsistentwith the published experimentalobservations，” said Chen.

“Thefrictionbetween 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.”

Reading Check

1.Which of the following can produce static electricity?

A.Putting feet over the carpet.

B.Sticking children's hair to the balloon.

C.Wearing smart watch on the wrist.

D.Slipping fingers over the smartphone screen.

2.What's 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.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Important vocabulary in the text

1.phenomenonn.现象

2.incorporatev.包含；吸收

3.promisingadj.有希望的；有前途的

4.consistentadj.一致的；相符的

5.observationn.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.