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Features

The use of electronic equipment, plastic furnishings and garments made of synthetic fabrics hides a phenomenon that shall be taken into account with great attention: static electricity.

Men undergo the phenomenon of triboelectricity without realising it. They annoyingly become aware of it when - opening the car door, for instance on a dry and windy day, they perceive an irritating shock in their hand. The wind action - replacing the one of a "piece of wool" is intended to electrify men who have discharged their electrostatic potential on the car. The discharge has been produced because wind has created the so-called potential difference between man and car by activating the electrification process.

The man of the third millennium lives immersed in an ensemble of electric and electromagnetic fields produced by industrial and non-industrial equipment that can fulfil his/her need for assets and services (TV-sets, computers, radio, Wi-Fi networks, mobile phones, etc.). In the presence of these electric and electromagnetic fields, the individual accumulates an amount of electricity intended to increase the electric and electrostatic potential on his/her body. As a matter of fact, the permanent modification of the human potential caused by the exposure to electric fields may cause the onset of transient disorders or real diseases.
The biologic effects of such exposures are being studied by the most advanced occupational medicine institutes, according to which the most frequent diseases are those affecting the visual, nervous and circulatory system.

Parameters influencing the generation

of static electricity and variable electric fields

1) relative humidity

- the generation of static electricity in clothes is minimum when relative humidity is equal to or higher than 65%; when the humidity percentage decreases (e.g. 20-30%), the generation of static electricity and electric fields considerably increases (even 10 - 20 times higher).

2) the human body

the electric charge acquired by a body may be produced by:

- triboelectric effect (electrostatic charge)
- sources of variable electric fields (home appliances, Wi-Fi networks, computers, mobile phones ...)

 

Its potential may reach values from 1,500 to 35,000 volts; this depends upon the capacitive reactance (build-up) of the human body, which may range between 100 and 100,000 ohms, but is typically varying between 1,000 and 5,000 ohms in some individuals. It is therefore necessary to avoid such a build-up on the human body through dissipative antistatic garments that can avoid the generation of static charges and the radiation of the electric fields present in the environment, which might cause some disorders to the visual, nervous and cardiocirculatory system.

 

Bioelectricity is used by biological cells to store energy

We can raise a finger thanks to bioelectricity and we can see thanks to it. Almost every single action is carried out thanks to the presence of bioelectricity. We are talking about the electric signals that are generated and detected by our organs, muscles, brain and glands. These signals are transmitted by our nerves.
Our body is made up of biologic tissue. The tissue that can generate or detect bioelectric signals is referred to as excitable tissue. Some examples of this tissue (and its cells) are neurons and the muscular tissue. Neurons shall transmit the excitatory bioelectric signal to another neuron (forming the nerves), to a muscular tissue or to a brain gland, whereas muscular cells are responsible for muscular contraction and distension. Some specialised cells generate bioelectric signals: optical receptors (eyes), muscular cells conveying the pain sensation, etc.

Electric potentials and EMG signal

Skeletal muscles are functionally organised on the basis of motor units (MU)
The cross section of a muscle shows how the fibres belonging to a MU are placed in-between those of other MU's. As a consequence, the muscular fibres of one single MU represent a bioelectric source distributed in a conductive medium, of which all the other muscular fibres, both active and inactive, are an integral part.
 The electric signal generated by the active fibres of a MU is referred to as extra-cellular potential or motor unit  potential (MUP), it has a three-phase morphology (i.e. consisting of three peaks with an alternate sign), a duration from 3 to 15 ms, a variable amplitude from 20 to 2000 V, according to the MU features and a discharge frequency from 6 to 30 Hz.
 
SEMG (Surface Electromyography) measures the electric field potential arising out of the overlap of the action potentials of every single active muscular fibre.
It is important to point out that every single electric contribution generated by MU's or MUP's give rise to an electric signal by overlapping in the muscular volume in terms of space and time. Apparently irregular, it is referred to as an interference pattern typically non-periodical and variable all over the time; for these reasons, to be able to interpret the signal, it is necessary to process it by using proper statistic and electric parameters, also varying all over the time.

A particular technique, used in studying muscular fatigue, consists in artificially inducing contraction through the electric stimulation of the muscle, thus resulting into contraction levels and, therefore, electromyographic measurements that are more repeatable than those obtained from voluntary contraction.
Resistex®Carbon has a dissipative antistatic effect and it ensures protection against electric disturbances. Thorough studies in the field of ESD (Electro Static Discharge) protection have pointed out that the control of static electricity and variable electric fields concerns any kind of environment. The human body suffers - sometimes imperceptibly and sometimes considerably - from the presence of these natural phenomena: both the electrostatic discharge (ESD) and the electric over-stress discharge ( EOS) clearly affect its well-being. As a matter of fact, it is important to know that the electric charges settling on our body may cause several disorders, such as for instance the overheating of some parts of our body due to a triboelectric effect during sports activity and not only. This overheating may alter normal blood microcirculation and cause annoying itching, tingling and fatigue sensation.

The SEMG (Surface Electromyography) lab tests on garments made of Resistex®Carbon have shown that they are not only comfortable, but they also prevent electric charges from settling on the body, thus avoiding a negative reaction on muscular contractility.

 Thanks to its excellent conductive features, Resistex®Carbon can accelerate the movement of humidity through evaporation, thus increasing the sensation of well-being and decreasing humidity in case of skin contact.

Resistex® Carbon products are certificated