Bend a stream of water with static electricity!

Author: Maddie Van Beek

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Did you know you can bend water? It’s true! All you need is static electricity! But how do you create that? 



Have you ever slid down a slide only to find your hair sticking straight up afterwards? That’s static! I’m sure you’ve heard of static before, but what does it really mean? 

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In order to understand static electricity, you must first understand the atom. Everything in the world, including YOU, is made up of atoms. An atom is the most basic unit of an element. If you were to break an iron bar in two, the two pieces are still made up of iron atoms. If you continued to divide the iron bar in two until you could only see the pieces under a microscope, the pieces would still be made of iron. The smallest amount of iron would be one atom of iron. But, if you tried to break apart that one atom, it would no longer be iron. Why? Because one atom is the basic unit of any element. 



That’s not to say that atoms cannot be broken apart--they can! Each atom is made up of three kinds of particles--the protons, neutrons, and electrons. The protons and neutrons are tightly packed together in the center of the atom called a nucleus. That’s the ball you see in the diagram below. The electrons are much farther away and actually rotate around the nucleus. An atom is kind of like a solar system! Think of the nucleus as the sun and the electrons as the much smaller planets in orbit around it. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Atom_diagram.png

What does this have to do with static? Well, each of these small particles carries a charge. 



Neutrons = Neutral charge (no charge)


Protons = Positive charge


Electrons = Negative charge




This carbon atom has 6 protons and 6 electrons, so it has an overall neutral charge. 

http://astrobob.areavoices.com/files/2013/03/Atom-model-carbon-Uni-today-400x333.jpg

Sometimes, electrons can transfer from one object to another. When an object gains electrons, its charge becomes negative. When an object loses electrons, its charge becomes positive. As you can see below, an electron left a sodium atom and transferred to a chlorine atom. What happened to the charges of the atoms? Why? 

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One way that objects transfer electrons is through rubbing against one another. That’s what you’re going to do in the activity today!  



As you probably know, objects with opposite charges attract each other and those with like charges repel each other. When an object becomes negatively charged, it can also attract objects with a neutral charge. For example, when you place a balloon against a wall, it falls to the ground. But when you rub a balloon against your hair, it gains electrons. Then when you place it on a wall, it sticks. This is because the negatively charged balloon is attracted to the protons in the wall. 

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/img_static/balloont.gif

Activity: This is a very simple demonstration of how static electricity can be used to bend a stream of water. This happens because the comb or balloon has gained electrons and has a negative charge. The negatively charged item then attracts the neutral charge of the water. 



YOU WILL NEED

• Balloon
• Plastic comb
• Sink 
• Dry hair 

Here’s what to do! 

1. Turn on the faucet so a steady but narrow stream of water is flowing. It should be only a few millimeters across, but make sure it’s steady enough that it’s not just water droplets. 
2. Run the plastic comb through your hair about ten times. 
3. Slowly move the comb toward the stream of water, but be careful not to touch it. What happens? 
4. You should have seen the stream of water bend towards the comb, almost like magic! But this isn’t magic, it’s just simple science!

Extension: You can also do this experiment with a balloon instead of a comb. You would blow up the balloon and rub it against your hair for a few seconds, then bring it close to the stream of water just like you did with the comb. Try using the balloon to see if you can get the same results. 




References

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/static.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_electricity

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/bendingwater.html