Friday, October 12, 2007 - ...Electricity

We are beginning our unit on "Electricity" ...

We took a class today on electricity at the A.M.S.E. (American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, TN)...

DC learned about atoms and charges...(+,-, and neutral)... they learned of the repel and attraction of protons and electrons... and we did 2 great experiments...

Experiment #1 : Take a piece of plexiglass, wipe it with a piece of fleece to get the static energy going... Then place a pizza pan (with a piece of plastic pipe taked to it for a handle) on top of the plexiglass.. Touch the pan with a small flourescent light bulb... then lift the pan and touch it again with the bulb... The bulb will then light up in your hand... It was really cool and the kids did it over and over...

Experiment # 2:  Blow up a balloon, tape a wire thread (from steel wool) to it with both ends exposed... then take 2 strips of aluminum foil and fold them into about 1 inch wide strips...Then place on strip on a table and place 2 "D" batteries on it (stacking them on top of each other with - + ends meeting) and then place the other foil strip on top... (it takes more than 2 hands) and then touch each piece to the ends of steel wool at the same time... It will cause the balloon to burst... the kids loved this one because it made me jump when it exploded...

Hope you try these at home, because they are cheap and great and really get the electrical charge idea across...

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - How did you do that picture?

Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - Untitled Comment