Bending Water Science Experiment
This simple science experiment allows kids to play with the unseen force of static electricity. They will be amazed at what seems like magic, but can be explained by scientific principles.
Bending Water Experiment – The Science Behind It
Static electricity occurs when there’s a buildup of electric charge on the surface of an object. This happens when certain materials rub against each other, causing electrons to be transferred from one material to the other.
A quick demonstration involves rubbing a balloon against your hair. Check out the quick activity video we did here.
Atoms, the building blocks of everything around us, contain charged particles called protons and electrons. Protons have a positive charge and electrons are negatively charged. Normally, the positive and negative charges within an object balance each other out, leaving the object neutral overall.
However, when two materials rub against each other, their atoms may interact in a way that causes some electrons to be transferred from one material to the other.
This transfer of electrons leaves one material with an excess of electrons (becoming negatively charged) and the other with a deficit of electrons (becoming positively charged).
For example, when you rub a balloon against your hair, the balloon gains electrons from your hair, making it negatively charged, while your hair loses electrons and becomes positively charged.
Because opposite charges attract and like charges repel, the positively charged and negatively charged objects will be attracted to each other. This attraction or repulsion is what we feel as static electricity, and it can cause objects to stick together (like when a balloon sticks to a wall after you rub it against your hair) or even produce sparks (like when you touch a metal object after shuffling your feet on carpet).
Bending Water Science Experiment
All you need for this simple science experiment is a plastic comb, a water faucet, and your hair.
- Rub the plastic comb against your dry hair or a woolen cloth for about 30 seconds. This action is charging the comb with static electricity.
- Turn on the faucet or fill a sink with running water. For safety reasons, avoid using metal sinks and keep the charged comb away from the metal faucet.
- Slowly bring the charged comb close to the stream of water, making sure it doesn’t touch the water. Observe any changes or movements of the water stream.
- Record your observations in the data table provided on the worksheet. Note the distance at which the comb affects the water, the direction of the water’s movement, and any other observations.
- Repeat the experiment multiple times, varying the distance between the comb and the water stream each time.
- Now repeat this but have a different person rub a comb on their hair. (Use different combs for each person, but make sure the combs are the same.) Fill in an observation sheet for them.
Did you notice any patterns in the observations? Were there differences for different people? Does it matter if the hair is long or short? Curly or straight?
Bending Water Experiment – Discussion Questions
- What happened when you brought the charged comb close to the water stream? Did the water move? In which direction?
- How did the distance between the comb and the water stream affect the movement of the water?
- Can you explain why the water stream was affected by the charged comb?