Before we dive into the world of electricity, we need to take a detour into chemistry in order to understand fundamental concepts about static charge and electrostatic forces. These forces hold our world together, and without them, our universe couldn't even exist. The reason we're diving into the word of atoms is that we need to look at the electron (and the proton to some extent).
NEW! Download the complete packet for this section here.
NEW! Download the complete packet for this section here.
Electrons stay at a certain distance from a nucleus, called a shell. They move so fast around the shell that the shell forms a balloon (like a ball) around the nucleus. An atom can have as many as seven shells, or as few as none. The number of electrons an atom has determines how many shells it has.
Your head contains a balance of positive and negative electrical charges. When you rub a balloon on your head, you're picking off negatively charged electrons from the outermost shells in the atom from your head and sticking them on the balloon, so now the balloon has a negative charge. Your head has a positive charge. This imbalance of positive and negative charges is what static electricity is all about.
In this lab, you're going to make all kinds of cool experiments including an electroscope and an alien detector, both of which detect static charge, and you'll also learn how Jupiter makes lightning, and how to build an electrostatic motor, ring wireless bells, and more by discovering one of the fundamental concepts in all of science: opposite charges attract and like charges repel.
Be sure to take out a notebook and copy down each example problem right along with me so you take good notes as you go along. It's a totally different experience when you are actively involved by writing down and working through each problem rather than passively sitting back and watching.
Your head contains a balance of positive and negative electrical charges. When you rub a balloon on your head, you're picking off negatively charged electrons from the outermost shells in the atom from your head and sticking them on the balloon, so now the balloon has a negative charge. Your head has a positive charge. This imbalance of positive and negative charges is what static electricity is all about.
In this lab, you're going to make all kinds of cool experiments including an electroscope and an alien detector, both of which detect static charge, and you'll also learn how Jupiter makes lightning, and how to build an electrostatic motor, ring wireless bells, and more by discovering one of the fundamental concepts in all of science: opposite charges attract and like charges repel.
Be sure to take out a notebook and copy down each example problem right along with me so you take good notes as you go along. It's a totally different experience when you are actively involved by writing down and working through each problem rather than passively sitting back and watching.