Set up for Rods and Pivots

 

Code Number: 5A20.10

Demo Title: Electrostatics - Rods and Pivots

Condition: Good

Principle: Electrostatics

Area of Study: Electricity & Magnetism

Equipment: 

Lucite Rod, PVC rod, Cats Fur, Silk, Desiccator with Drying Agent, Rods on Pivot.

Procedure:

Charge both rods on the rotating support by rubbing them with Cats Fur.  The Lexan side will have a positive charge and the Plexiglas side will have a negative charge.  Bringing a charged rod close to the rotating rods will show attraction and repulsion. 

References:

  • Jay Zimmerman, "Electrostatic Whirligig", TPT, Vol. 25, # 7, Oct. 1987, p. 469.
  • Robert A. Morse, "Laboratory Activity 4: The Versorium and Electric Dipoles", Teaching about Electrostatics, p. 3 - 12.
  • Blane Baker, "Attraction and Repulsion: Two Electrostatic Experiments in One", Physics Education, March 2004, p. 131.
  • George M. Hopkins, "Frictional Electricity", Experimental Science, p. 360.
  • Bobby Mercer, "Spinning Straws", Junk Drawer Physics, p. 136.
  • Rudolf F. Graf, "Making a Simple Electrostatic Charge Detector", Safe and Simple Electrical Experiments, p. 26.
  • Rudolf F. Graf, "The Free-Wheeling Straw", Safe and Simple Electrical Experiments, p. 28.
  • Borislaw Bilash II, “Getting a Charge Out of Things“, A Demo A Day – A Year of Physical Science Demonstrations, p. 119.