Mijo, We have the air and our own skin, both of which are high on the list of solids that like to give up electrons and take on positive charge. On the other hand, we have vinyl which likes to take on electrons and negative charge. When we play an LP, we touch the vinyl thereby transferring any electrons stored up in our bodies due to walking across carpet, etc, to the LP. Then too, the vinyl moves with respect to the static mass of air in the room which would create a frictional effect at the LP surface causing electrons to rub off on vinyl. And I haven’t mentioned the act of removing an LP from its sleeve, which if made of paper will also confer electrons on the LP. So we have two or maybe three sources of electrons available to the vinyl. Why then do we need the idea that the inert diamond stylus is the primary suspect in the process of building up charge on an LP???? Where does that idea come from?
Thank you for spurring me to consult the Triboelectric tables, available in abundance on the internet, from which I get the data to support my claim. One of us should get hold of a static charge meter. Then measure the charge on an LP surface prior to play, after play, and after letting it just rotate on the platter for 20 minutes or so, with the stylus at rest. Compare numbers. It’s a very tricky experiment to do correctly, though. The Shure Corporation paper on static charge talks about the problems of proper measurements.
