Static Electricity Box
| Physics: | Electricity |
| Grade Range: | Middle School, High School |
| Format: | Hands-on |
The static electricity box is a small box covered in plastic and contains aluminum foil balls. This quirky box displays some surprising and fun properties of static electricity up close that students can play with.
Materials
- Static electricity box:
- Aluminum foil
- 1 cm diameter Styrofoam balls, wrapped with aluminum foil
- Small clear plastic dome with base (Such as a cookie platter tray)
- Small cardboard boxes, cardboard strips, or similar
- Piece of paper towel, cloth, or fur
Safety Precautions
- Please see the Demonstration Safety Page for General Safety Precautions
Demonstration
- Preparation
- Assemble the Static Electricity Box
- Rinse out the plastic platter tray and dry. Stack the small cardboard boxes, strips, or similar until they nearly touch the lid of the tray when inside. Tape them together.
- Line the top cardboard box (or cover the top of the stack) with an aluminum foil sheet. Cut two additional sheets to then fold and stack on top, pressing them in and leaving the edge elevated.
- Place the Aluminum-wrapped styrofoam balls inside the aluminum lined box. Close the lid on top, ensuring it is a snug but sturdy fit.
- Presentation
In the Works
Why This Works
Short Explanation
In static electricity, charges (+ and -) are separated from one another. Due to the properties of the materials these charges are separated onto, some of these charges are not able to disperse, and are "stuck in place" (i.e. if the surface is a nonconductor). One property of charges is that opposite charges attract each other and like charges repel each other. In the case of this demonstration, rubbing cloth on the plastic (made out of polycarbonate, a nonconductor) makes parts of the blast shield - charged. The aluminum foil-wrapped Styrofoam balls are attracted to the charged surface, and will jump to it!
When the balls are on the blast shield, students can see that they move if they try to poke them. This is because, when they touch the plastic, they remove the - charge on the surface. The balls will then fall back down, or they will slide around the blast shield trying to find another spot that is charged.
Tips and Tricks
- Try to make the blast shield as flat across the top of the box as possible
- This demonstration goes well with Van de Graaff generator and other static electricity demonstrations