Balloons and Static Electricity

Have you ever rubbed balloons on your clothes or on your cat only to see them stick to the wall? Your cat may have hated you for it, but how could have the poor animal know that all was done in the name of science?

But seriously, if you want to learn more about balloons sticking to some surfaces after being rubbed, leave your cat alone, and try an application called Balloons and Static Electricity.

In this fun little Java-animated simulated, you get to rub a balloon against a very ugly sweater. You can then see how the balloon sticks either to the sweater, or to the wall; yes, there’s also a wall in this simulation, and it’s very yellow.

The main advantage of using this simulation instead of real life is that you actually get to see the charges of the objects. Thus you learn that, when rubbing the balloon against the sweater, most of the electrons (negative charge) will move to the balloon, while the protons (positive charge) will now reside on the sweater.

Now, when you move the balloon near the wall, you can see how all the electrons in the balloon make the electrons in the wall move all the way to the other side. This leaves only the positive protons, which in turn attract the negative electrons (because opposites attract), and thus make the balloon stick to the wall.

The program doesn’t offer that much variety when it comes to the experiment itself; you can add a second balloon into the mix, and that’s about it. Remember that Balloons and Static Electricity is an educational application that is best used during a physics class by a teacher who can explain things better and help students reach relevant conclusions.