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Answers to Readers' Questions on Physical Science:

Static Electricity Detection

The following 3 comments and questions have been sent in. They are listed according to date.

List of first 10 items

• How do you measure the amount of charges?
• How is an electroscope is related to static electricity?
• How are static electricity and magnetism related?

Next 10

How do you measure the amount of charges?

Question

January 13, 2009

after you make an electroscope to test static electricity, how do you measure the amount of static between the various different materials you test????

B - USA

17095

Answer

The distance the leaves or foils spread apart is an indication of the strength of the static electrical charges.

You can use one material as a baseline and compare the spread caused by other materials. This is a relative measurement, comparing one with respect to the other.

Note that the electroscope must be set to zero after each test. You simply touch it to ground out the charges.

Also note that the distance from the electroscope must be the same for every comparison.

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How is an electroscope is related to static electricity?

Question

October 7, 2008

why an electroscope is related to static electricity?

Bonakele - South Africa

16607

Answer

An electroscope is a device used to detect static electricity by seeing the foils separate from the charges.

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How are static electricity and magnetism related?

Question

May 1, 2008

How are Static electricity and magnetism related? Will a negatively static charged balloon be effected by the north or south pole of a magnet? Why?

Michelle - USA

15846

Answer

Static electricity cause attraction of opposite electrical charges and repulsion of like charges. It works with electrical fields. Magnetism works with magnetic poles and magnetic fields. Although both effect attract and repel, they are not the same and only indirectly related.

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