From getting out of the car to hair standing on end — small zaps strike many of us at this time of year. So why does it happen?

The prevalence of static electricity was all due to the weather, according to David Harris, a physicist and curator of the Physics Museum at University of Queensland.

"It's incredibly dry and cool which is why we're feeling it more," he said.

"With humidity down to 10 per cent here in Brisbane, we're feeling it more as there's no moisture in the air."

Mr Harris said static electricity came from moving electrons.

"It comes about because electrical charge builds up around objects, and when the electrons come together, the electrons flow from one place to another and give you an electric shock."

Age-old trick of rubbing feet on carpet

As children, many of us tried to rub our feet on carpet to zap unsuspecting friends and siblings.

Mr Harris said carpet was not the key ingredient to creating static electricity.

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"Rubbing stuff together is what generates static electricity," he told ABC Radio Brisbane's Katherine Feeney.

"It turns out that rubbing carpet isn't the important part — you can create static by simply touching things together.

"Rubbing carpet is really just rubbing things together a lot. Things coming in contact builds up the charge."

Battle of clingy clothes

Clinging clothes becomes infuriating in the dry weather for many fashionistas.

Mr Harris said different fibres affected how much static electricity you attracted.

"Some fibres are much worse than others, and in most cases it's the different kinds of materials that come into contact and the combinations of material are worse than others.

"It's not just the material but also what it comes into contact with.

"You can create good static electricity with wool or silk depending on what you rub it against."

The best way to get rid of static was to discharge it, he said.

"In most cases you need to touch your clothing against something that's grounded — literally the ground. It allows the charge to leak off you and your clothes into the ground which stops things from being clingy.

"Yet that's not always easy to do when you're sitting on a chair with a rubber mat as the static electricity can't get away as easily."

Keeping your skin moisturised in dry conditions can also help in reducing static between your skin and clothes.

Static can cause bigger issues for planes and mining operations. ( Unsplash: Ramon Salinero )

Dramatic cases of static electricity

When it comes to planes, grain silos and coal mines, static electricity is a serious topic.

"When static builds up in grain silos or coal mines, the static discharge or shock can ignite things in the air," Mr Harris said.

"There has been underground explosions in coal mines when the static discharge ignites the coal dust.

"It's a serious effect and there's a lot of work and research being done to try and stop that happening."

He said planes were also built with static-eliminating parts.

"Planes build up static on them which can become a problem as it happens when they fly through certain types of cloud," Mr Harris said.

"Most planes have static wicks or discharges, which are tiny little metal spikes on the trailing edges of wings and that allows electrical charge build-up to leak off and stop the static from building up."