At night, when I'm sleeping I will reach down and move my cat or dog out of my way and a light appears where I touch them. The light has been so bright that is shown in my cats face and made her squint. I'm wondering if it is static electricity? It happens every time I move them. The light is not consistent, sometimes a streak, a circle or just a light like a pen light shining down. I do wear two silver chain bracelets all the time. Is the silver conducting electricity? I'm very curious about this. Anyone have any answers?
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
1
-
$\begingroup$ most probably a small lightning from static electricity, especially if the air is dry. Same happens with bedsheets in winter. $\endgroup$– ZeroTheHeroCommented Jul 29, 2017 at 21:27
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
0
I would guess this is the same as the effect described in Why does rubbing feet against sheets create a spark? It is a surprisingly common phenomenon. I used to be a keen photographer, and when working in a dark room in complete darkness it's surprising how many things release light. For example peeling Sellotape off the roll creates quite a lot of light.
The phenomenon is due to the triboelectric effect. When you rub two different material together there will often be a charge separation generated. In effect some of the electrons rub off one material onto the other. This charge separation causes tiny sparks and this produces the light.
As for your bracelets, I doubt they play any role in the effect but you can easily test that by taking off the bracelets before you stroke the cat.
answered Jul 30, 2017 at 6:43