This deals with hard floorboards that have an electrical layer just beneath the top layer. The layer is organized in parallel tracks. Each track can attract dust and can repel dust. By activating the tracks in a specific order the dust is moved to the side of the room. All you have to do is to remove the dust that is collected at the side of the room.

Looking at the floor from the side (you see a cross-section, the short end) the pattern can be described as: Normal (neutral): 00000000000000 Step 1 : -+00-+00-+00-+ Step 2 : 0-+00-+00-+00- Step 3 : 00-+00-+00-+00 Etc. Description: 0 = no attraction or rejection - = Rejection + = Attraction

Undoubtedly the exact pattern has to be determined via trial-and-error. Who knows you find interesting patterns in dust, e.g. dust-circles?

Note: I am open to any suggestion how static electricity can be used. Unfortunately I have no clue anymore, those schooldays have long gone...
-- spekkie, Sep 10 2002

Even it it doesn't work you gould just add some iron filings and a moving magnet.
-- st3f, Sep 10 2002


I like the idea... just make sure the stuff is earthed after it has finished cleaning else you might have problems with sparks or at least find your hair standing up a bit...
-- RobertKidney, Sep 10 2002


Since probably not all the dust particles are charged, maybe an iron-backed, handleless, flat broom could be moved around the floor by the fields.
-- FarmerJohn, Sep 10 2002


Regular electrophoresis will only work on dust that has a charge. Dielectrophoresis will only work to attract dust, not repel it, unless you can apply an ambient electric field to the whole room and then use some of the tracks to cancel it out, which would have the effect of repulsion by attracting the dust to everywhere other than those tracks. (Purely attractive dielectrophoresis may still be usable for this application, though.) Is there some other form of electrophoresis I'm ignorant of, that could be helpful here?
-- notexactly, Dec 07 2019


Think of the environmental field evolutionary nature has to play with, wih this idea.
-- wjt, Dec 07 2019


Somewhat Tesla bath-ish

//This deals with hard floorboards

'deal - a plank of softwood (fir or pine board) plank, board - a stout length of sawn timber...' But deal boards are not that hard.

So.... is that kind of a pun, or I am seeing puns that aren't there?
-- not_morrison_rm, Dec 07 2019


That depends if you remembered to take your medications today...

Were the puns pointed out to you by Montmorency, the two metre tall purple chipmunk that follows you everywhere and told you do all those naughty things that people were upset about ?
-- 8th of 7, Dec 07 2019



random, halfbakery