The smallest thing around is the atom, which has three main parts – the core (nucleus) houses the protons and neutrons, and the electron zips around in a cloud around the nucleus.
The proton has a positive charge, and the electron has a negative charge. In the hydrogen atom, which has one proton and one electron, the charges are balanced. If you steal the electron, you now have an unbalanced, positively charge atom and stuff really starts to happen. The flow of electrons is called electricity. We’re going to move electrons around and have them stick, not flow, so we call this ‘static electricity’.
These next experiments rely heavily on the idea that like charges repel and opposites attract. Your kids need to remember that these activities are all influenced by electrons, which are very small, easy to move around, and are invisible to the eye.
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Blow up a balloon. If you rub a balloon on your head, the balloon steals the electrons from your head, and now has a negative charge. Your head now has a positive charge because your head was electrically balanced (same number of positive and negative charges) until the balloon stole your negative electrons, leaving you with an unbalanced positive charge.
Let’ play with a more static electricity experiments, including making things move, roll, spin, chime, light up, wiggle and more using static electricity!
Here’s what you need:
- 7-9″ balloon (get two in case one pops)
- a wall
- wool sweater or scarf
- sink
- ping pong ball
- comb
- neon bulb
- tissue paper
- wire coat hanger
- tape
- packing peanuts
- bubble juice
- fluorescent bulb (burnt-out bulbs are fine to use)
- nylon stocking (AKA ‘panty-hose’)
- plastic grocery bag
Download Student Worksheet & Exercises
Static Electricity Experiments!
Expt. 1: Static Hairdo Charge a balloon by rubbing it on your head for 30 seconds. Pull the balloon up about six inches to check your progress – if the hair isn’t sticking to the balloon, try again on someone with clean, dry hair (without any hair styling goop). When you put the balloon close to your head, notice how your hair reaches out for the balloon. Your hair is positive, the balloon is negative, and you can see how they are attracted to each other!
Your hair stands up when you rub it with a balloon because your head is now positively charged, and all those plus charges don’t like each other (repel). They are trying to get as far away from each other as possible, so they spread far apart. Does the hair continue to stand apart even after you remove the balloon? Does it matter what hair color or texture? (Does the balloon shape matter?)
Bonus Question: How can you get rid of the extra electrons?
Expt. 2: Finding Attraction Rub your head with the balloon and then hold the balloon to a wall. Can you make it stick? How about the ceiling? How many other things does the balloon stick to? (Hint – try a wool sweater.)
Expt. 3 Wiggly Wonder Hold the charged balloon near a stream of water running from a faucet. Can you make the water wiggle without touching it? The charged balloon attracts the stream of water. The water is like a bar magnet in that there are poles on a water molecule: there’s a plus side and a minus side, and the water molecules line up their positive ends toward the balloon when you bring it close.
Expt. 4 Ping Pong Puzzle Rub a comb with a wool sweater, and bring it close to a ping pong ball resting on a flat table. Why do you think the ping pong ball moves? Does it work if you use a charged balloon instead? What if you swap the ping pong ball for a piece of styrofoam?
Expt. 5: Static Neon Store up a good charge of electrons by scuffing along the carpet in socks on a warm, dry day. To make this a much more interesting experiment, hold one end of a neon bulb and watch it light as you touch the other end to a nearby object such as a metal faucet, metal part of a lamp, etc. You can also bring it close to your TV set (the old tube TV kind), both turned on and just turned off, to see if it has any effects on the neon lamp bulb?
Hint: you’ll need to get the neon bulb out of the plastic encasing and hold only one of the wires to make this experiment work – one wire act a as the collector, the other is grounded (via your hand) to the earth. You can also hold onto one lead as you slide down a plastic slide and then touch something grounded (like your mom).
You steal electrons and take on a negative charge when you scuff along the carpet in socks. Remember that just like magnets, ‘like’ charges (negative-to-negative or positive-to-positive) repel, and opposite charges (negative-to-positive) attar, which is why you can make your hair stand up on end by scuffing around a lot. The hairs all become negative, trying to get as far away from each other as they can.
Expt. 6: Electric Tail Feathers Cut a sheet of tissue paper into 12 thin strips, about 1/2″ wide and 8-12″ long. Straighten out a wire coat hanger (snip off the hook part), or find yourself a 10g piece of metal uninsulated wire. Tape the strips to the end of a wire coat hanger (make sure your coat hanger do not have plastic insulation around it – use sandpaper to sand off any clear enamel if you’re not sure). Attach a piece of plastic with tape or clay to the center of the rod, making a V-groove so the handle sits better on the wire. Bring a very charged balloon near the end of the wire – what happens?
Expt. 7: Ghost Words (Although this experiment has also held the name “Ghost Poop”… ) Rub packing peanuts with wool or your hair to build up a strong, quick static charge. Stick the stryfoam to the wall to spell out words. How long do they stay attached to the wall? Does humidity matter? (Try spritzing with a light mist of water).
Expt. 8: Static Bubbles Blow a few big, round bubbles (use store-bought bubble solution, or make your own with 12 cups cold water and 1 cup clear Ivory dish soap and a wire coat hanger stretched into a diamond shape). Chase your bubbles with a charged balloon – what happens? Try the comb rubbed with wool – which works better? What other two things can you use to change the path of the soap bubble? (Photo: Tom Noddy, one of the greatest bubble magicians ever – he’s the first one to ever blow a square bubble.)
Expt. 9: Fluorescents Unplugged In a dark room, rub the length of a fluorescent bulb with a piece of plastic wrap (or polyethylene bag or wool sweater) vigorously and then pull your arm away – the bulb should light up momentarily. What other materials cause it to glow?
Expt. 10: Ghost Leg This experiment is absolutely hilarious to watch, but you must be persistent to get it right. On a cold winter day, crank up the heat in your house to warm and dry out the air. You now have the ideal static electricity environment. Take a nylon stocking (just a single knee-length will work, or just use half of a full pair, but roll up the unused half so it’s out of your way) and press the toe part against a nearby wall. Line your other hand with a piece of a clear plastic bag (if the plastic can stretch, it’s the right kind) and rub the nylon stocking vigorously. Now hold the stocking in the air and see if you scrubbed it well enough to charge the stocking with enough static charge so it repels itself and fills out – looking as if there’s a ghost filling out the leg!
Why do these experiments work?
The triboelectric series is a list that ranks different materials according to how they lose or gain electrons. Near the top of the list are materials that take on a positive charge, such as air, human skin, glass, rabbit fur, human hair, wool, silk, and aluminum. Near the bottom of the list are materials that take on a negative charge, such as amber, rubber balloons, copper, brass, gold, cellophane tape, Teflon, and silicone rubber.
When you rub a glass rod with silk, the glass takes on a positive charge and the silk holds the negative charge. When you rub your head with a balloon, the hair takes on a positive charge and the balloon takes on a negative charge.
When you scuff along the carpet, you build up a static charge (of electrons). Your socks insulate you from the ground, and the electrons can’t cross your sock-barrier and zip back into the ground. When you touch someone (or something grounded, like a metal faucet), the electrons jump from you and complete the circuit, sending the electrons from you to them (or it).
The fluorescent bulb lights up when the electrons jump around. The inside of the bulb is coated with phosphor (a white powder) and filled with mercury vapor gas. The phosphor gives off light whenever it gets smacked with UV light. The mercury vapor gives off UV light whenever it gets excited by electricity (movement of electrons). When you rub the outside of the bulb, electrons start to jump around, exciting the gas, which generated UV light, which hits the phosphor and causes it to glow briefly. When the bulb is in balance, it stays dark. If you tip the balance, electrons flow and you get light.
Exercises
- Why does the hair stick to the balloon?
- How do you get rid of electrons?
- Can you see electrons? Why or why not?
- Does it matter what kind of hair you rub the balloon on?
- How long does the hair continue to stand up after you remove the balloon?
- Does it matter what kind of balloon you use?
- How fast or slow do you need to rub for the biggest charge on the balloon?
- Does hair color matter?
- This evening, find an article or story that describes how electricity improves our lives. Bring the article to school. If you bring in an article that no one else brings in, you get extra points.
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The charge built up by friction (static electricity) is quickly dissipated through the moisture in the air. With the water wiggle, it’s quick the water is only in one particular area, not surrounding the whole balloon. Also water is a polar molecule, which makes it reach the way it does when you bring a charged balloon close. Good question!
If humidity and rain make it so there is lower charge how does the water wiggle experiment work?
Thanks, Enoch (Caryn’s Son).
This is one of the very few experiments that didn’t have a video, however in a couple of weeks I am releasing a new experiment just in static electricity (with a video) that will have a lot of cool ideas for you to try. Check the Summer e-Camp Electric Lab soon!
I can’t find the video. Can you make that video appear?
When you ground (touch an object connected to the Earth) yourself, the plus and minus charges balance out and you have a neutral charge again. 🙂
When you steal electrons from something like your hair, how does your hair gain those electrons back?
Hey Aurora, Malcolm and I just did the Wiggly Wonder experiment and thought this was the coolest ever! Malcolm wants to know if this would work with Orange Juice. We don’t have any and thought it would take a great deal of orange juice and someone to create that steady stream…lol…Malcolm doesn’t think it will it not straight water. What do you say to Malcolm , then?
I’ll have my team connect with you right away!
Came to the static electricity experiments via the “Detecting the electric field” activity, but it says I don’t have access to this content. I have run into this quite frequently today. This is the first time I have really been able to look around the site and plan our science lessons from Supercharged Science for next week. Every time I click on something or try to download anything, I am denied access. What exactly do I have access to? I am getting quite frustrated and don’t have time to click on every single thing, only to find out I don’t have access. How may I gain access to the static electricity experiments?
You need a comb to make static electricty
It has to do with the way the older TVs (called “CRT”) created the image on the screen. They did so by firing electrons at the back of the screen which created an electrical charge on the screen, which built up to make a large static charge. Since the screen was made of glass, it caused the glass to become charged. A flat screen (the kind that are popular today) works at low voltage (the CRT were high voltage), so there’s no static charge build up on the screen.
why does a TV screen have static electricity?
Not necessarily. You can jump in with static electricity and then move onto the circuits. You can do one without the other first. 🙂
Are the kids supposed to watch the Circuits video and read about circuits before doing this? I am a bit confused.
A bubbles experiment is go outside when it is -0 degrees or less then take bubbles and blow them they will freeze in to ice bubbles
It’s not really “lighting up” that you’re looking for as much as a quick flash. You’ll get a flash anytime you’ve build up enough electrons, like from a balloon that’s been rubbed on hair, or your finger after scuffing around in socks, or down a plastic slide at the park the second your feet touch the ground.
We actually tried that out of desperation since the faucet wasn’t working. (It was my son’s idea) But it didn’t light the bulb. Was that the expected result?
Cool! What happens if you touch it to a balloon you’ve rubbed on your head?
Yay! We got it to work by changing our socks, just as you suggested. The small bathroom rug was sufficient. We also tried touching it to the kitchen sink rather than faucet, thinking the finish on the faucet may affect the outcome. Thanks for the fun trick. 🙂
For the neon bulb experiment, does it matter how large the carpet? We used a small bathroom rug since we don’t have anything larger. Also tried a blanket. Neither worked. And just to verify, are we to touch one end of the tiny wire coming from the bulb (the wire that is exposed once the bulb is removed from its casing) to the metal while holding the other end?
In July, the Physics Lab, Lasers Lab, Electricity and Robotics Lab, and next month you’ll be getting access to the big Chemistry lab! 🙂 Enjoy!
I would like to know what this week’s e-camp project is? Thanks.
Sorry about that – I really meant to make a video to go with this, since it’s a little confusing. You’ll want to make something that looks like a mop, only instead of the cotton strands, you’re using tissue paper. The mop handle is the wire coat hanger. If you make a notch in the coat hanger, it will sit better on your wire and not slip off so easily.
Funny side note – as I was sweeping up pine needles from my carpet last night, I noticed that they jumped right into the trash can when I got the dust pan (which was full of them) near the can. Turns out that just by sweeping them into the dust pan, it created a static charge on the pine needles, so they were attracted to the opposite charge of the can… it was so cool to watch them fly through the air and land IN the trash!
My 3 children are busily cutting paper strips and sanding a wire hanger to try the tailfeathers experiment, but I am having trouble understanding what to do with it. It is “Attach a piece of plastic with tape or clay to the center of the rod, making a V-groove so the handle sits better on the wire” that I don’t understand. Help? Is that so you can hold onto it without discharging the electricity?
THANK YOU 🙂
You’ll want to be sure it’s a DRY (not humid) day. If you rub a balloon on your head and you get the static effect in your hair (the hair sticks tot he balloon), then you the sock trick should work. Like any great scientist, if you try something and it doesn’t work… change your approach (different pair of socks, for example) and try again!
My name is Liam I am in the sixth grade, I have tried the socks and carpet method for the neon bulb along with putting a fleece blanket in the dryer they both didn’t work. What else should I try? Thank you.
Great! I have added this to my video shoot list.
I agree, a video would be great. You can give extra tips when you’re talking about the experiments.
Hmmm… would a video here help? I wonder if we can put together a video that will show all these demos in one. There are only a couple of experiments (this is one) that don’t have a video showing you step-by-step how to do the project. Let me know and I’ll put it on our list.
We also had a hard time understanding the instructions for the Electric Tail Feathers experiment. We ended up just skipping it, but I think a picture would have been a tremendous help.
My kids were totally distracted by making their own bubble solution, and the excuse to take the experimentation outdoors. Oh, well. I guess we’ll do the remainder of the experiments tomorrow. 🙂 It is fun, though, that all the ages are involved! At first my 13yo balked that these were baby experiments…until he had an idea!
Well, it depends on the kind of neon bulb you have. See if you can separate the bulb from the casing – you might have to carefully crack the plastic to do this – or you can try just using it in the casing itself.
How does one get the neon bulb out of its plastic casing? I am not seeing how anything much comes off of it. I was able to loosen and take off a nut and ring that were around it but that didn’t end up doing anything.
Yes, this higher the humidity, the less static electricity you’re going to see. If it’s raining, don’t even try until the weather clears. Static electricity is the build up of electrical charges (electrons). The water molecules in the air will discharge the electrons more quickly (allow the outer electrons to jump off and dissipate). The less the water vapor content in the air (like on a dry day), the more you’ve have static build-up, as there’s nothing to discharge to. Does this help?
Does humidity matter? You posed that question as part of the experiment but now we’re really wondering. We’ve played with balloons and static electricity plenty of times before, but since moving here (extremely humid and warm environment) we can’t get them to work! Is it something to do with the environment?
Cool! Me, too!
hey, i like the astronomy video.
me and my brother are having fun with this program! you guys have lots of fun experiments and you print the reading
material very well! keep up the good work
Unfortunately, no… there’s not enough energy stored in a static charge to pop an entire bag of popcorn – you need a hot burner on the stove or a microwave (that heats it by focusing high-energy light beams at your food). Same for the exploding egg… sorry, but these are more ‘video magic’ tricks than real science. (Although it would be WAY cool if they were real!)
We looked around the internet for other static electricity experiments and found one on YouTube where a teenager popped a bag of popcorn with a touch of his finger after his friends rubbed him all over with balloons. Ditto for exploding an egg. Are these ‘experiments’ possible?
Sidney
Marcelle Kinney again.
Actually, we do understand the tissue at the end of the wire. But, the handle part doesn’t make sense. As such, we did it our own way: (1) Straighten wire, (2) taped strips to one end, (3) made a hook with the other end, (4) hooked the hook on our chandelier.
Hooking it on the lamp over our homeschool table let us test it easily. OUr favorite experiment.
My name is Marcelle Kinney. My son is signed up but we are trying the high school so that’s why we are using the temporary password.
Anyways, I don’t understand the #6 experiment with tissue paper and hanger. Can you post a picture? We cut strips, straightened out the wire hanger but I don’t know where to tape the paper nor do I understand the handle part.
Marcelle