Creating Flash Dancers with Static Electricity

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Creating Flash Dancers with Static Electricity
by Jeanette Cain

With this experiment, your pirouette cutouts from paper will dance using static electricity.

Static electricity consists of charged particles. It can also do strange things, such as bending water and cause flashing bolts of lightning through the sky. These particles mutually attract or repel, passing from one material to another. When wool, which is positively charged, is brushed against a balloon, which is a negative charge, the two attract each other. With the experiment below you will discover that when moving the positive charged wool against the pie tin and across the cellophane, the positive charged wool will attract the negative charged cellophane. The cellophane will then attract the positive charged tissue-paper figures underneath. The attraction of opposite charges will make your figures stand upright and whirl around.

YOU WILL NEED:

1. Aluminum pie tin
2. Balloon
3. Cellophane
4. Ruler
5. Scissors
6. Wool yarn
7. Wrapping tissue

FIRST, measure the depth of your pie pan. Cut figures from the tissue paper, just slightly smaller than the depth of the pan. Place the figures in the pie pan, being certain to space them evenly.

NEXT, Stretch the cellophane across the top of the pie pan pulling it tight, like a drum. The tighter the cellophane, the better the results.

THEN, blow up a balloon. Wad the wool yarn into a ball and rub it against the balloon until you hear a cracking sound. The cracking sound is static electricity.

FINALLY, gently rub the wool across the cellophane. Your figures will spring upright and dance wildly. For a more impressive sight, turn off the light to see the figures really flash dance.

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