Dealing with Static on LP palyback

Lewm, off subject, did you notice that I provided the link to the Stereophile article on the sound differences for various stylus and cantilever configurations?

@spatialking 

The fan does make some noise, but not as bad as a vacuum machine, besides you only turn it on for about 20 seconds and blow on both sides of the record only before each play of the record.  Get the one with the on off button it the back of the unit.  

@faustuss 

Also, there might be foreign matter adhered at the very surface which can be delt with permanently using a keen eye and a fingernail

Any recommendations for a salon that can do a micro-line fingernail profile?

@antinn 

As far as why the PVC and diamond pair in rubbing does not produce static is likely caused by the diamond on the triboelectric scale being close to PVC, meaning it attracts electrons to yield a negative charge the same as PVC, and that is implied in this article:  (PDF) Durable and High‐Performance Triboelectric Nanogenerator Based on an Inorganic Triboelectric Pair of Diamond‐Like‐Carbon and Glass.  

Hi Neil, good to see you here!

That's a tough read early on a Sunday morning!  

The article mainly discusses diamond-like-carbon on glass, mainly compared with copper on Teflon, in order to maximise (not minimise!!!!!!) the amount of electricity that can be produced, for use as a power source.  It briefly mentions other materials: PMMA, nylon, PE, PTFE, PI, and PVDF. 

Rather than speculate what the article implies about diamond versus PVC, I asked my friend Mr. ChatGPT and here is what his deep dive says:

In the triboelectric series, diamond is more positive (loses electrons) than Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), which is a strongly negative-charging material. When rubbed together, electrons will transfer from the diamond to the PVC, making the diamond positively charged and the PVC negatively charged. 

Material Comparison

Material	Relative Position	Charge Tendency when paired with PVC
Diamond	Generally positive/neutral depending on surface termination	Becomes positively charged by losing electrons
PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)	Strongly negative	Becomes negatively charged by gaining electrons

We can bang on about whether diamond-like-carbon behaves like real diamond, and the other strange properties of carbon (like diamond is a good insulator, while graphite is a good conductor and graphene is probably the best conductor known to man), but can we please accept that diamond and vinyl are far apart in the triboelectric series as a scientific fact.

I try to emphasise the strength of electromagnetic forces compared to gravity, not to confuse @lewm, but because the magnitude of the force is so far from our lived experience.  At our scale, gravity is the dominant force we experience.  Most likely, when we think of dust, it is a gently snow that can be easily flicked from surfaces with a feather duster.

If you stay in this mindset, it is easy to believe that a stylus will simply bulldoze dust out of the groove.

Now change that mindset.  Multiply the forces you are used to by a million, million, million, million, million, million times.  Which will come off best - the stylus or the elecrostatically stuck-on dust mote?

PS: I know there is no hard-and-fast, universally agreed, triboelectric series (in contrast to the periodic table which since the discovery of the proton, is hard-and-fast) but the trends are clear.  Triboelectricity generation is not fully understood - even the shape and polish of the surface is sometimes important.

@richardbrand,

Sorry, but I have found ChatGPT to be wrong so many times WRT to very technical that I dismiss it a valid source without cross examination of each reference.

Otherwise, the nature of the Triboelectric series is fairly well understood, with technical data such as Quantifying the triboelectric series - PMC and The Triboelectric Effect Series - AlphaLab, Inc.  Glass is one the most positive (gives up electrons) materials on the Triboelectric series.  The article showing the very high power generation from the sliding of a carbon like diamond material against glass is positive evidence for me that diamond is very negative on the triboelectric series which then supports why the diamond be dragged (slid) against PVCa record material produces no static electricity. 

As far as micron particles in the groove, and the stylus with a high static pressure (stylus vertical tracking force divided by stylus surface area) causing the dust particle to be embedded in the groove, that is a very weak theory.  The basic composition of the particle can be of almost any composition with the very worst be being silica (glass) type (Sahara sand), but most will just be pulverized under the pressure, if not just blown up like when you walk through very dry snow.  Also, large particles are subject to kinetic energy from the impact with the stylus, and the basic equation is mass times velocity squared, so a large enough particle at the outer groove will cause a greater pop (where the velocity is 50 cm/s) than at the inner groove (25-cm/s). 

One of the confirmed causes of static like noise in vinyl records is a poor pressing that the stylus essentially gouges.  But it is very easy to confirm if the noise is static, hold the record above your arm, and do the hairs reach up to the record and some people use a piece a toilet paper for the same purpose.  

However, you are free to accept whatever analysis you wish, but for the record, I do not agree with it, so we agree to disagree.

Take care

Neil