Triboelectrification of identical insulators. I. An experimental investigation

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Nominally identical samples of the same material frequently charge each other when they are rubbed together. It has previously been supposed that the charge transfer is associated with the temperature difference (due to frictional heating) which results when one sample slides over the other. The authors find that charge transfer is not influenced by sliding speed and they conclude that it cannot be the result of a temperature difference. On the other hand, charge transfer is strongly affected by the preparative treatment of the surface, and in particular seems to be associated with surface damage. The results presented in this paper form a general description of the phenomenon. Any theoretical model must account for these observations; in the following paper the authors develop such a model.