by 
oldmanuk
ANSWERS: 5
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Sort of. In a sense, that's what solar cells do. However they need the Sun to create the static electricity to begin with. Static electric charges occur when some force pulls electrons off of an atom or molecule and moves them somewhere else. That force, though, requires energy. For example, when you shuffle your feet on a carpet and build up a charge, you are using energy to shuffle. And the amount of static electrical energy you build up is less than what it took to generate it because you lose some energy due to heat in in your muscles, and to sound and other energy losses. So really all you are doing is taking one form of energy and converting it into another form. Static electricity can be used as a way to store energy (capacitors store static electricity as energy, for example), but not create it. In the case of Solar cells, the energy from the Sun comes in the form of units of light energy called photons. photons of a large enough energy level can knock off the electron of a silicon atom and move it to a conductor where it can be funneled off to power some device. I hope this helps.
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No, power is amps times voltage. Although the voltage is high, the amperage is virtually nothing. So 10,000 volts x 0 amps = 0 Watts
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You know, it might well be a possibility. The separation of charge and subsequent recombination might make for some interesting generators. It would require a serious sit down and think session, but ultimately the answer is yes. I doubt that it would be commercially viable, since standard generators are dirt cheap and very reliable. However, I think it would make for some cool research. Good thinking!
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This is something I've been pondering for years now. There is so much pressure available in the voltage measurement of static electricity, but as the last person stated, there are no amps associated with it so therefore it will do no work. However, I am working on ways to use the static charge to create an osscillating momentum that could then be used to generate a normal AC current. It's like a 2 step process that starts with something like a wimhurst generator. I'm still in the pondering stage yet though. Good luck on your quest!
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It's easy! But it's useless! While static is of high voltage, it's of extremely low amperage. You can get a tiny 1/4 watt neon bulb to flicker with a static charge, but that's about it. You can't run your washing machine.
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