Why Do I Sometimes Get a Shock When I Touch a Doorknob?

Why Do I Sometimes Get a Shock When I Touch a Doorknob? The little shocks you can get by walking on a carpet come from what is called static electricity. Static electricity is created when positive and negative charges aren’t balanced.

Everything in nature has atoms, and every atom has electrons. When your shoes rub against a thick carpet, they may scrape away some electrons.

If your body builds up a surplus of electrons, it has a negative charge. Things with opposite charges are always attracted to each other, so positive charges seek negative ones and negative ones seek positives.

If your hand touches something that can easily carry electrons (such as a doorknob), the electrons will leap from your hand to the doorknob. You will then see an electric spark and feel a little shock. The shock may surprise you, but it is not dangerous.

Have you ever noticed that you get a little static electricity shock over and over again from the same thing, like walking down the hallway and then touching the knob on the bedroom door?

A neat trick that can help you avoid the shock is to snap your fingers right before you touch the surface that shocks you! (Try it out!)

So, the next time you get a little shock from touching a doorknob, you’ll know that it’s just electrons jumping around. Now i know why do i sometimes get a shock when i touch a doorknob.

Have you ever been “shocked” when you touched a doorknob, a car-door handle, or a water fountain? Ouch! Well, then you already know something about the effects of static electricity.

Content for this question contributed by Brian Rabideau, resident of Marinette, Marinette County, Wisconsin, USA