Elenco Snaptricity&reg - Manual (Page 18)

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Project #8 More Static Tricks
Educational Corner:
Electricity vs. Gravity:
Electricity is immensely more powerful than
gravity (gravity is what causes things to fall to the
ground when you drop them). However electrical
attraction is so completely balanced out that you
don’t notice it, while gravity’s effects are always
apparent because they are not balanced out.
Gravity is actually the attraction between objects
due to their weight (or technically, their mass).
This effect is extremely small and can be ignored
unless one of the objects is as big as a planet (like
the earth). Gravity attraction never goes away
and is seen every time you drop something.
Electrical charge, though usually balanced out
perfectly, can move around and change quickly.
For example, you have seen how clothes can
cling together in the dryer due to static electricity.
There is also a gravity attraction between the
sweaters, but it is always extremely small.
Note: This project works best on a
cold dry day. If the weather is humid,
the water vapor in the air allows the
static electric charge to dissipate,
and this project may not work.
If you have two balloons, rub them to a
sweater and then hang the rubbed sides
next to each other. They repel away. You
could also use the balloons to pick up
tiny pieces of paper.
1. Corona wire charges
drum with static electricity 2. Light from white
areas of document
being copied destroys
the charge.
3. Toner from roller is attracted
to the charged areas. 4. Toner image transfers
to charged paper.
5. Heated rollers
bond toner image
to paper.
In many photocopiers, a drum is charged with static electricity. Light from
the white areas of the document being copied destroys the charge, but dark
areas of the document leave a pattern of charge on the drum. Toner (a
powder) is attracted to the charged areas, creating an image. The toner is
then transferred to paper and melted on.
Electricity Gravity
Take a piece of newspaper or other thin
paper and rub it vigorously with a
sweater or pencil. It will stick to a wall. Cut the paper into two long strips, rub
them, then hang them next to each
other. See if they attract or repel each
other.
Snappy says: how well a
material can hold an
electric or magnetic
charge depends on the
characteristics of the
material.