GoKawiilStudy finds sliding raindrops build electric charge that corrodes coated metal
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research found that water droplets sliding down smooth surfaces such as glass, leaves, and Teflon-coated copper accumulate an electric charge. When these charged droplets reached copper plates coated with Teflon, they burrowed through the coating and pitted the metal beneath, an effect not seen when water simply dripped straight onto the plates without first sliding across another surface. The findings, published in Nature, also help explain why water moves more slowly than expected across seemingly frictionless smooth surfaces.