Static Electricity and Water
1,393 views · Published 9 May 2015 · 0:35 · Indexed 16 October 2026
Channel: MicrowaveMeShow · 2015 · Entertainment
NOTE: I know there isn't much of a pull compared to other videos, but I have the misfortune of living in a climate with very high humidity year round, especially this year, so you're not going to see spectacular results. The videos you saw where the water is drawn to the balloon so impressively that it's nearly parallel were likely filmed in California, or some other place blessed with low humidity. I filmed this at least two dozen times with different types of balloons over a period of several days. This was the best I could get, one of the few that wasn't a total fail. ***Original description*** This is a simple and safe science trick anyone can do at home, even a child. What you need is a balloon, rub it against your hair or some kind of cloth so that it can generate a static charge, then run the water on your sink just enough that the water is flowing. Then stick the balloon by the stream of water and watch it become attracted to the balloon even though it's not sitting underneath the stream. What happens is that the balloon being charged with static electricity has extra electrons, which are negatively charged. Water is neutral so it has both positive and negative charged particles. The positively charged particles are attracted like magnets to the balloon's negative charge, and the flow of water is redirected to the balloon. This can work with other things, such as a comb, but you get the most dramatic results using a balloon. I know this isn't a very good demonstration of the effect but I seem to have trouble getting these basic little try-at-home science things to work more than just enough.
