If you don’t have a comb, find a plastic spoon or an inflated balloon instead. Rub the object quickly against your hair, or a piece of fur, wool, or carpet. The friction from rubbing the 2 materials together knocks electrons loose from one object and onto the other. Clean hair conducts more electricity than dirty (greasy) hair. [2] X Research source
When the negatively charged comb comes near the water, it repels the electrons, so that the side of the water nearest the comb then has a positive charge. The attraction between this positive charge and the negatively charged comb results in a net force on the water, bending the stream. [4] X Research source
Does the temperature of the water affect how much it bends? Does a bigger object make the water bend more? Does the material that the object is made of affect its ability to bend water? How does the strength of the stream flow affect how much it bends?
This works because the balloon weighs almost nothing, so gravity barely affects it. The electrical attraction between the balloon and the wall is strong enough to resist the pull of the whole world! You can also tear up tiny bits of paper and pick them up with the balloon.
Wait until a dry day, when it hasn’t rained in a while. Static electricity builds up much faster when there is almost no water in the air. Find an object that often gives you a shock. This might be a car after you’ve been sitting in it for a long time, a metal door handle, or a playground slide. Before touching the object, poke it with something metal like a coin, key, or metal pole (or, before getting out of the car, poke the metal frame). The electrons will quickly flow into the metal you’re holding, then harmlessly into you. You can now touch the object without getting shocked. Sometimes, if a lot of electrons have built up, you can see a spark as they jump into the thing you’re holding.
