Impact electrification between an elastic sphere and a metal plate has been
studied experimentally. To find out how charge transfers between the conta
ct bodies, the voltage profiles at the impact are measured under various ex
perimental conditions using a digital oscilloscope, and simultaneously the
contact deformation of the sphere is visualized with a high-speed camera. T
he initial charge on the sphere and the transferred charge are obtained fro
m the integrated voltage with respect to the elapsed time of the impact pro
cess. The variation of the electrification by repeated impacts is analysed
by taking account of the initial charge and charge relaxation with elapsed
time. Furthermore, the relationship between the transferred charge and the
contact area as a function of the impact velocity is investigated based on
the electrification theory and Hertz analysis of elastic contact deformatio
n.