Transparent PVC plastic film is one of the most practical and hygienic ways to protect food: it allows it to preserve its physical and chemical characteristics. For example, your fruit, once wrapped with the film, will not be contaminated with refrigerator odors nor will it acquire a shriveled appearance.
What would be the working principle of plastic film and what scientific law is it based on?
One of the advantages of the transparent kitchen film, as it is popularly known, is that it adheres to itself, which makes it possible to package food individually. The explanation for this super-sticky property comes from electrostatics.
When you pull out the roll of film, as shown in the image below, you are administering a charge of electricity to it.
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Once stretched, this film will have an electrical charge, allowing it to adhere to any material that has been discharged.
Take a test to prove it! If you are doubting this static electricity, do this: take a piece of film and let it go for a while. When using it, you will notice that there is no longer any electrical charge in its length, and therefore it will not stick to anything else.
By Líria Alves
Graduated in Chemistry
Brazil School Team
Chemistry Curiosities - Chemistry - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUZA, Líria Alves de. "Working Principle of Plastic Film"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/quimica/principio-funcionamento-filme-plastico.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
