You can use the idea that like charges repel (like two electrons) and opposites attract to move stuff around, stick to walls, float, spin, and roll. Make sure you do this experiment first.


I’ve got two different videos that use positive and negative charges to make things rotate, the first of which is more of a demonstration (unless you happen to have a 50,000 Volt electrostatic generator on hand), and the second is a homemade version on a smaller scale.


Did you know that you can make a motor turn using static electricity? Here’s how:


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Comments

4 Responses to “Electrostatic Motor”

  1. Sorry about that – the page content was overwritten somehow. I’ve put it back. Thanks for letting me know!

  2. ritasjohnson says:

    I’m looking at both of these lessons and they are the same.
    Triboelectric Series and Electrostatic Motor

  3. Yikes! You are correct, we will get this fixed right away.

  4. The triboelectric page and the electrostatic motor page seem to have the same content at the moment.