Author: Maddie Van Beek
Christmas Yarn Ornaments: How does static electricity work?
Have you ever pulled a sweater over your head only to look in the mirror and find that your hair is sticking straight up?! This is caused by static electricity. Static is more prevalent in the winter time because the air is usually drier than in other seasons.
Less humidity = more static. More humidity = less static.
Christmas Yarn Ornaments: How does static electricity work?
Have you ever pulled a sweater over your head only to look in the mirror and find that your hair is sticking straight up?! This is caused by static electricity. Static is more prevalent in the winter time because the air is usually drier than in other seasons.
Less humidity = more static. More humidity = less static.
This is Mrs. Van Beek's hair after rubbing it with a fleece sweatshirt... static electricity is causing her hair to stand on end!
What is static? Static electricity occurs when there is an uneven balance of electric charges on the surface of a material. This uneven balance causes that material to either be attracted to something (if that something has an opposite charge) or repel from something (if that something has the same charge). For example, when you pull that fuzzy sweater over your head, it causes your hair to be negatively charged. Because your hairs are negatively charged, they repel each other--they want to be as far away from each other as possible, so they stick straight up!
Check out the link below for an in-depth explanation of what static electricity is.
Check out the link below for an in-depth explanation of what static electricity is.
Today, you are going to experiment with balloons to see if you can increase or decrease static electricity. After experimenting, you are going to create yarn ornaments to decorate your house! You can use holiday colors to use as ornaments or you can use other colors to decorate your home any time of the year!
Check out one of our blogs on static electricity here to try other fun science experiments:
http://discoveryexpress.weebly.com/blog/bend-a-stream-of-water-with-static-electricity
Check out one of our blogs on static electricity here to try other fun science experiments:
http://discoveryexpress.weebly.com/blog/bend-a-stream-of-water-with-static-electricity
Now that you know more about static electricity, we can move on to our activity!
YOU WILL NEED:
YOU WILL NEED:
- Yarn (any color)
- School Glue (Elmer’s works great)
- Water
- Balloons (water balloon size works well)
This is my practice round. There's no wrong way to wrap the yarn... this is your creation!
10. Once you’re done covering your balloon, carefully roll it in the glue mixture and then place it on the newspaper to dry.
11. Repeat steps 9 and 10 until you are done creating as many ornaments as you want! Leave them to dry overnight.
12. In the morning, use a pin to pop the balloons. You are left with a cool homemade yarn ornament!
Image credits:
All images taken by Maddie Van Beek
11. Repeat steps 9 and 10 until you are done creating as many ornaments as you want! Leave them to dry overnight.
12. In the morning, use a pin to pop the balloons. You are left with a cool homemade yarn ornament!
Image credits:
All images taken by Maddie Van Beek
