If you don’t have any wire on hand, cut off a long section from a metal coat hanger. Your homemade electroscope will essentially be a wire threaded through a plastic or glass jar—one-half of the bent wire will be inside the glass, while the other half will be sticking out. [3] X Trustworthy Source Science Buddies Expert-sourced database of science projects, explanations, and educational material Go to source
Make sure that your wire has at least 1 coiled spiral. [5] X Research source
You can also use an old plastic jar and lid that you’re about to recycle (like an old peanut butter jar). Use a drill to make a hole in the center of the plastic. [7] X Research source
It only takes a few minutes for hot glue to dry.
This part of the wire will be inside the jar.
It’s okay if the shapes aren’t perfect! All that matters is that both pieces of foil are the same shape and size.
You can also cut a small hole on the top of each leaf with a pair of scissors.
Don’t worry about taping the lid down if it’s an exact fit for the jar.
Do you ever notice how you generate more static electricity when it’s dry and cold outside? That’s because there’s no moisture in the air to balance out the charges. [16] X Research source The drier the environment, the more static electricity you’ll be able to produce!
You could also rub your fingertips along the front of a vinyl record to create static electricity.
Static electricity follows Coulomb’s Law—this is the idea that identical charges (like negative and negative) repel each other, while opposite charges (like positive and negative) attract one another. [19] X Research source Experiment with different items and see which ones can build up static electricity. Test them against your electroscope and see what happens!
