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Partly cloudy skies. Low 77F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph..

Partly cloudy skies. Low 77F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph.

The Stewart C. Meyer Harker Heights Public Library’s Science Time program on Wednesday afternoon held an experiment on static electricity that used only a few materials.

The Stewart C. Meyer Harker Heights Public Library’s Science Time program on Wednesday afternoon held an experiment on static electricity that used only a few materials.

Last week’s Science Time program at the Stewart C. Meyer Harker Heights Public Library introduced the science concepts behind static electricity. At the end of that program, library clerk Heather Heilman promised to provide a closer look at it, and she proved to be true to her word as Wednesday’s Science Time brought with it a series of small experiments on just what static electricity can do.

“Today, as promised, we’re going to be doing some more static electricity science,” Heilman informed her virtual audience. “So we’ll see what we can do that’s ‘shocking’ today.”

She reminded viewers that static electricity is “an imbalance in the molecules in an item that is caused by friction,” and after referencing last week’s demonstration involving the balloon separating pepper particles from salt, said that this week she would be using some PVC pipe to make a “magic wand.”

In addition to the PVC pipe, Heilman’s materials included another balloon, an aluminum can, duct tape, aluminum foil, a plastic cup, and a paper clip. With the exception of the PVC pipe, most items would be easily found around the home.

Heilman began by rubbing a length of PVC pipe against her hair to charge it with static electricity. She then laid the can on its side and held the pipe near the can. The static electricity caused the can to move. Heilman suggested that rubbing the pipe with a cloth might make the can move more.

She repeated the experiment, this time substituting the balloon for the can. The balloon’s movement was more pronounced, and she speculated that it might be because the balloon was a lighter weight than the can.

Heilman then repeated the experiment, this time substituting the balloon for the pipe and the replacing the can. The can shot across the table. “That makes it move a whole lot more!” she exclaimed, laughing.

Heilman next used her materials to fashion a sort of electroscope (this is a device that detects and measures electrical charges). She straightened her paper clip, leaving one end with a hook, then taped this to the bottom of the inside of her plastic cup. Attaching a small piece of foil to the hook of the clip, she turned the cup upside down so the foil piece was hanging down.

She rubbed the balloon in her hair again to charge it, then held it near the cup. The balloon attracted the foil, causing the foil to move. She repeated this using the PVC pipe in place of the balloon, and while it did work, she noted, “The balloon works way, way better.”

Heilman noted, too, that these were easy experiments to do with items found around the house and requiring little supervision. Moreover, it was interesting to see, “how much power (static electricity) has, because who would think that you could use that, a balloon rubbed across your head, and then move the Coke can as much as it did move?”

Watch the video on the library’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/harkerheightspubliclibrary/videos/442337490510296.

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