Bright Ideas - Program

• Share Ideas that you have had for camps, games, crafts, activities, program with Guiders and receive this crest

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Static Electricity

Work on the Science portions of the Brownie or Guide Program

Have fun demonstrating what Static Electricity is.

What you need:

• plastic comb
• thread,
• small pieces of dry cereal (O-shapes such as Cheerios),

What to do:

• Tie a piece of the cereal to one end of a 12 inch piece of thread.
• Find a place to attach the other end so that the cereal does not hang close to anything else.
• Wash the comb and dry it well.
• Charge the comb by running it through long, dry hair several times, or vigorously rub the comb on a wool sweater.
• Slowly bring the comb near the cereal.

Hold it still until the cereal jumps away by itself.

Then try to touch the comb to the cereal again.

It should move away as the comb approaches.

This project can also be done by substituting a balloon for the comb.

Explanation: When you comb your air or run the comb against a sweater (or run the balloon against your hair or a balloon) electrons move from your hair to the comb. The comb has a negative charge and the cereal which is neutral is attracted to it. When they touched, electrons slowly moved from the comb to the cereal. Since the comb and the cereal have a negative charge, they repelled each other.

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