Electrometer for Triboelectric Evaluation of Materials

An electrometer developed for measuring the triboelectric responses of soils on Mars is also potentially useful on Earth for identifying some materials via their triboelectric responses. In operation, an array of triboelectric sensors is rubbed against the material of interest for a predetermined distance, then withdrawn from the material of interest at a predetermined speed. During this operation, the electrometer circuitry measures the time-varying sensor output voltages, which are proportional to the electric charges induced on the sensors by the rubbing. The resulting voltage-vs.-time data constitute the desired triboelectric-response data. If materials that one seeks to identify or to distinguish from each other exhibit unique, known triboelectric responses that have been catalogued, then a sample of unknown material can be identified by seeking a match between its triboelectric response and one of the catalogued responses.