Mr. jonrick I am an RN working in an ICU with 35 years of experience AND a FREEPER; you have a lot of nerve accusing me of closeminded charlotry. I deal both with the balance of faith and reason. in medicine. Electrostatic properties of masks will vary with their construction and their materials but moisture will also affect and dampen any attracting electrostatic properties of the fibers...it’s called science...why don’t you study it?!
I have family members in the medical field including Dr. Bill Crounse. They laugh every time I bring up questions of their efficacy. They all agree that a mask provides valuable protection from the droplets carrying the C-virus.
As these droplets are lodged in the fibers (see below description) of the mask, the normal effects of evaporation take away that protective coating around the virus, until it is destroyed.
That electrostatic property of the mask is never destroyed because of their low moisture absorption and the effects of evaporation.
If John Hopkins says it is necessary to wear a masks, I believe them. Here is what they say:
“Coronavirus Face Masks & Protection FAQs”
Also, I found this study greatly help where it says:
“Filtration of aerosols follows five basic mechanisms: gravity sedimentation, inertial impaction, interception, diffusion, and electrostatic attraction. For aerosols larger than ∼1 μm to 10 μm, the first two mechanisms play a role, where ballistic energy or gravity forces are the primary influence on the large exhaled droplets. As the aerosol size decreases, diffusion by Brownian motion and mechanical interception of particles by the filter fibers is a predominant mechanism in the 100 nm to 1 μm range. For nanometer-sized particles, which can easily slip between the openings in the network of filter fibers, electrostatic attraction predominates the removal of low mass particles which are attracted to and bind to the fibers. Electrostatic filters are generally most efficient at low velocities such as the velocity encountered by breathing through a face mask.”
And this:
“Electrostatic interactions are commonly observed in various natural and synthetic fabrics. For instance, polyester woven fabrics can retain more static charge compared to natural fibers or cotton due to their lower water adsorption properties.”
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.0c03252