Dear Reader,
Happy 2021! Finally! Br-r-r-r. It’s been cold in San Diego. Hope you’re staying warm and healthy.
See ya on the Net,
Barbara J. Feldman
“Surfing the Net with Kids”
https://www.surfnetkids.com
Static Electricity
https://www.surfnetkids.com/resources/static-electricity/
Static Electricity Printable(** for Premium Members only)
https://www.surfnetkids.com/printables/files/printables-club/static-electricity.pdf
Has your hair ever stood out from your head after pulling off a wool cap? That’s the result of static electricity. In their usual state, atoms are electrically neutral because they contain an equal number of positive protons and negative electrons. But when two materials rub together (like your hair and your cap) some of the electrons jump from one thing to the other, creating an electric charge called static electricity.
PBS Learning Media: Static Electricity: Snap, Crackle, Jump
In this video from the PBS science show ZOOM, a vinyl record is rubbed on a wool scarf and then the record “magically” lifts breakfast cereal right out of its bowl! After watching the video, click on Support Materials to read an article about static electricity and more about the experiment shown in the video. “When rubbed with a wool scarf, the surface of a vinyl record picks up extra electrons from the scarf. If the charged record is placed over puffy rice cereal, the electrically neutral cereal pieces become polarized. Because opposite charges attract, the negatively charged record lifts the positively charged ends of the cereal pieces.”
PhET: Balloons and Static Electricity
This interactive experiment from the University of Colorado at Boulder shows the effect of rubbing a balloon against a wool sweater. You can do the experiment with one or two balloons, add a wall to your experiment, and change which of the charges are displayed. Be sure to move your charged balloons around between the sweater and the wall, and watch what happens.
Physics Classroom: Static Electricity
The Physics Classroom (for beginning physics students in high school or college) presents four comprehensive static electricity lessons, starting with basic terminology, and ending with lightning. “Perhaps the most known and powerful display of electrostatics in nature is a lightning storm. Lightning storms are inescapable from humankind’s attention. They are never invited, never planned and never gone unnoticed. “
… Click to continue to Static Electricity
Printables Club Members Also Get …
Surfnetkids Printables Club Members also get the following printables to use in the classroom, the computer lab, the school library, or to send home with students:
Static Electricity Printable
Static Electricity Wikipedia Printable
Physics Printable
Lightning Printable
*** Are you curious? Get your own ten-day trial membership:
https://www.surfnetkids.com/printables-club/
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Quote of the Week
“An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It’s being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don’t.” ~~ Anatole France ~~ (16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) French author. This treasure is filed under Experience at Lightafire.com; click the link to hunt for other treasures.
Surfing the Calendar
National Bird Day Jan 5, 2020
First U.S. Presidential Election Jan 7, 1789
Elvis Presley’s Birthday Jan 8, 1935
War On Poverty Anniversary Jan 8, 1964
Andrew Jackson Defeats British in Battle of New Orleans Jan 8, 1815
National Static Electricity Day Jan 9, 2020
International Thank You Day Jan 11, 2020
Alexander Hamilton’s Birthday Jan 11, 1755 or 1757
Ratification Day Jan 14, 1784
American Revolutionary War Ended Jan 14, 1784
Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley’s First Snowflake Photograph Jan 15, 1885
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday Jan 15, 1929
Dr. Dian Fossey’s Birthday Jan 16, 1932
Ben Franklin’s Birthday Jan 17, 1706
Operation Desert Storm Begins Jan 17, 1991