Chapter 21, Problem 56P

If a cat repeatedly rubs against your cotton slacks on a dry day, the charge transfer between the cat hair and the cotton can leave you with an excess charge of −2.00 µC. (a) How many electrons are transferred between you and the cat?

You will gradually discharge via the floor, but if instead of waiting, you immediately reach toward a faucet, a painful spark can suddenly appear as your fingers near the faucet. (b) In that spark, do electrons flow from you to the faucet or vice versa? (c) Just before the spark appears, do you induce positive or negative charge in the faucet? (d) If, instead, the cat reaches a paw toward the faucet, which way do electrons flow in the resulting spark? (e) If you stroke a cat with a bare hand on a dry day, you should take care not to bring your fingers near the cat’s nose or you will hurt it with a spark. Considering that cat hair is an insulator, explain how the spark can appear.