Adamar Pagan Adames

FISI3172-030
Recinto Universitario de Mayaguez
Prof. Yong Jihn Kim
March 2, 2021.

Applications of Electrostatics

Electrostatics can be applied in many ways. In this short report I

will be mentioning some of the numerous applications of this topic.

Starting with ink jet printers and electrostatic painting we can say that

the nozzle of the printer gives as a result tiny droplets of ink. These

droplets are sprayed with a charge which is electrostatic. These droplets

can be given a direction after they have their electrostatic charge. This is

made possible by the use of pairs of charged plates. The droplets can be

made into images and letters transferred to paper.

On the other hand, electrostatic painting clearly

engages in the use of electrostatic charge. In this case the charge is used

to disperse paint onto differently shaped exteriors. The repulsion

between like charges being mutual, provokes the paint to exit. Also, the
tension that is felt in the surface causes the formation of drops of paint.

Unlike charges direct these drops of paint to the surface.

Another application of electrostatics are the Van de Graaff

generators. These generators pull electrons that are present in planet

earth and carries them in a belt where they later store in a large sphere.

These generators present high voltages. These voltages are due to the

static electricity. There is a battery present in this generator that is in

charge of supplying a positive charge in excess. It directs this charge

towards a pointed conductor. These conductors are in charge of spraying

the positive charge onto an insulating belt that is constantly moving and

it is near the bottom of the generator. Meanwhile, the conductor will

pick up the charge.

This generator can hold very large charges, this is

because the sphere present moves fast to the exterior of the surface.

However, there will always be some simple limits to the charge that it

can accept.

Yet, we can still study a different application of electrostatics,

Laser Printers. These types of printers are known for the use of the
xerographic process. They use this process in order to obtain images on

paper that are very high quality. They do this with the use of a laser

projected onto a photoconducting drum. When the computer gives the

signal to the printer it results in an amazing output. This is due to the

precision that the laser can be controlled and manipulated with.

Finally, the last application we will be discussing are smoke

precipitators and electrostatic air cleaning. Air cleaners apply the use of

electrostatics in the way they situate an extreme amount of charge on

dust, smoke, and other particles. Then this air goes through a grid that is

charged opposite to the charge in the previous step. This grid in

particular’s role is to attract the particles in the air and keep them in the

same place. A machine that is used in the process of air cleaning is an

electrostatic precipitator. These precipitators delete a large percent of

particles that are present in emissions of gas. On the other hand, home

precipitators are mostly in charged of taking out particles that are

polluting the air or causing allergies.

 In conclusion, there is a wide range of ways we can apply the use

of electrostatics. Our role is to learn as much as we can about all the

applications so we can later find the use in one of these for ourselves.