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Explanation of experiments with static electricity - Succeed in Physical Science. Also refer to physics, science, sparks, electroscope, static cling, attraction, repulsion, balloons, measurement, Ron Kurtus, School for Champions. Copyright © Restrictions

Experiments with Static Electricity: 
Sticking a Balloon to Things

by Ron Kurtus (revised 26 January 2001)

You've seen examples of static electricity. You may wonder if you can repeat such effects, or if you can change some variables in order to make a discovery of some sort.

Experiments 

You've seen someone make a balloon stick to the wall. Questions you can answer through experiments are:

• Will the balloon stick to anything?
• What materials work the best?
• How long will the balloon stick to the wall?
• What would happen if you rubbed two balloons and tried to stick them together?

Materials

• Balloons
• Wool, clothes, and other things to rub against the balloon
• String
• Materials to stick against (usually parts of the room)
• Clock or stopwatch

(Note that static electricity experiments work the best on dry days. If it is rainy or damp outside, it is possible that things will not work very well.)

Experiment with sticking to different materials

1. Rub a balloon some wool or your shirt.
2. Then try to stick the balloon to different materials--like the wall, a door, the blackboard.
3. Make a list of the materials and how well the balloon sticks.
4. Draw some conclusions about the best and worst types of materials to stick to.

Experiment on materials to rub on

1. Rub a balloon with different materials to see which works best for sticking it to the wall.
2. Make a list of materials and how well they work for creating static electricity.
3. Draw some conclusions and try to explain the reasons.

Experiment with length of time

1. Use a clock to measure how long the balloon will stick to an object.
2. Try this several days apart to see the effect that weather or humidity has on the length.
3. Make a chart listing the time and the weather.
4. Draw some conclusions.

Experiment with two balloons

1. Tie two balloons to pieces of string.
2. Rub each balloon with the same material to charge it.
3. Hold the string and let the balloons get close.
4. Do they attract or repel? Why? Explain the reasons for what happens.

   Jump to Where can you go from here?

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Students and researchers

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www.school-for-champions.com/science/experiments/expstatic1.htm. Please include it as a reference in your report, document, or thesis.

Also, tell a friend about this material.

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Where can you go from here?

Experiments

Sticking a Balloon to Things

Also see:

Weekly Feedback Blog
Survey Results
Experiments with Static Electricity
Static Electricity

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