Static Electricity
Test different materials to see whether they are able to build up static electricity.
What You Need
- Small piece of tissue paper
- Small piece of fur
- Plastic comb
- Plastic baggie
- Foil
- Ribbon
- Small piece of cardstock
- Balloon
Guide:
Safety Notes
Ensure you are familiar with Let's Talk Science's precautions with respect to safe virtual outreach to youth.
What To Do
- Tear up the tissue paper into small pieces about the size of a pea or the end of your baby finger.
- Take a balloon and the piece of fur and rub the balloon with the fur for at least 10 seconds.
- Quickly place the balloon above but not touching the tissue paper pieces.
- What happens?
- Tear and cut up the piece of fur and rub the balloon with the fur for at least 10 seconds.
- Quickly place the balloon above but not touching the tissue paper pieces.
- What happens?
- Cut up some of the plastic bag into small pieces like you did with the tissue paper and foil.
- Take a balloon and the piece of fur and rub the balloon with the fur for at least 10 seconds.
- Quickly place the balloon above but not touching the tissue paper pieces.
- What happens?
- Cut the ribbon into small pieces and the cardstock and repeat the process again.
- What happens?
- Try the same thing but use the comb instead of the balloon and rub the fur on the comb.
- Does the balloon or the comb pick up more materials?
- Explore by rubbing different fabrics (like your shirt) on the balloon.
- Does a charge still build?
Discovery
Static electricity is a build of an electrical charge on an object. It's called static because the charge doesn't move. Normally objects don't have an electrical charge because the negative and positive charges are balanced. We can cause some materials to have a charge by rubbing two objects together. When you rubbed the balloon with the fur some of the negative charges on the fur were transferred to the balloon making the balloon negatively charged and the fur positively charged.
Guide:
What's Happening?
Static electricity is a build of an electrical charge on an object. It's called static because the charge doesn't move. Normally objects don't have an electrical charge because the negative and positive charges are balanced. We can cause some materials to have a charge by rubbing two objects together. When you rubbed the balloon with the fur some of the negative charges on the fur were transferred to the balloon making the balloon negatively charged and the fur positively charged.