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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:
Picking up Things with your Comb

by Ron Kurtus (revised 26 January 2001)

You notice that on a dry day, when you comb your hair, that small particles often stick to the comb. This gets you curious. You wonder:

Experiment picking up different materials

  1. Comb your hair  with a plastic comb.
  2. Try to pick up small pieces of paper or tissue.
  3. Also put the comb near your arm or your head to see if the hair will stand on end.
  4. Try other small items, of different materials.
  5. Make a chart of what materials you can pick up.
  6. Draw some conclusions about what materials are attracted to the comb.

Experiment with strength of attraction

  1. Get different square sizes of tissue paper (thus different weights of the same material).
  2. Comb your hair and try to pick up the smallest piece.
  3. Repeat with a bigger piece, until you can no longer pick it up with the comb.

If you could accurately measure the weight of the pieces, you could determine the actual strength.

Experiment with different combs

  1. Use a comb to pick up some pieces of tissue.
  2. Using the same person, try combs of different sizes and materials to pick up the tissues.
  3. Make a comparison chart of the size and material and how well they pick up the tissues.
  4. Draw some conclusions.

Experiment with different hair

  1. Try to pick up tissues using the same type of comb, but with different people.
  2. Try this by combing the hair of a dog, cat, or other furry animal.
  3. Make a comparison chart of hair type and ability to pick up tissues.
  4. Draw some conclusions on what type of hair or fur works best to create static electricity.

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Experiments

Picking up Things with your Comb

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Experiments with Static Electricity
Static Electricity

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