Static Electricity

So here are some fun experiments to do with your classes in reference to static electricity:

1. Rub a balloon on a student's head. Ask the students why the student's hair was attracted to the balloon. (Possible answer: the balloon gained electrons & has a negative charge, the hair lost electrons & has a positive charge & opposite charges attract each other.) Friction (the force that opposes motion) due to rubbing removed the electrons.

2. Use the Van de Graff Generator. Explain to the students that the rubber band has friction as it moves and the electrons build up on the metal ball (the build up of electrons without further movement = Static Electricity) When the electrons jump off the metal ball (Electric Discharge) you can hear the sound, feel the shock, and see the blue light. (This is lightening on a smaller scale). Students can experience this first hand & have a great time.

3. Have a student put her hands on the metal ball of the Van de Graff generator. Students will notice her hair standing up. Ask the students why that would happen. (Possible answer: electrons build up on the student giving the student a negative charge. The individual hairs repel each other because they are like charges & like charges repel each other.)

4. Students can also view like charges repelling each other by using an electroscope to detect electric charge. Charge a rubber rod by rubbing it on rabbit's fur. It will gain electrons. Touch the rod to the top of the electroscope. The electrons will travel down the metal ball to the metal leaves, which will repel each other. Students will be able to see that like charges repel each other. (This can be done with a positively charged glass rod. However, the electrons will move off the metal ball giving the metal leaves a positive charge.)

5. Students will be able to relate to static electricity because they have experienced a shock when walking across a room and touching a door handle, taking socks with static cling out of the drier, or numerous other experiences.

This topic is so much FUN!!!!!