Title: How do weather conditions affect the formation of a static charge?
Date: 2/1/2013
Statement of Problem: Do certain weather conditions increase or decrease static charge?
What can be done to reduce or eliminate the static charge?
Hypothesis: In reading up on this topic I learned that cold dry weather seems to increase static charge. It is a known fact that if humidity is above 30% it will reduce the static charge. Therefore, by adding water to the environment static charge is reduced or eliminated.
Materials:
*inflated balloon*hair
*hair dryer*water
*spray bottle
Procedure:
1.) Dry your hair with a hair dryer to be sure it is good and dry. 2.) Step out into the cold weather to get hair cold.
3.) Rub the balloon on your hair to create a static charge. 4.) This causes your hair to stand out on end.
5.) In order to decrease the static charge put some water drops on the balloon. 6.) Again rub it on your hair.
7.) The strands of hair that got wet no longer had static charge. 8.) Now spray your entire head of hair with water.
9.) Then rub the balloon on your hair.
The Essay on Water 5
Thesis Statement: Water is the most crucial part of life its self, and must never go unnoticed. I. People frequently overlook the importance of water in the body. In order to keep the body healthy, people must consume water. A healthy body is a well-hydrated body. Without the constant consumption of water the body becomes dehydrated. Perhaps people overlook waters importance, simply because its ...
10.) You will no longer have static charge in your hair.
Results (Data):
1. The charging of the balloon is local; the charge doesn’t spread all over the balloon if it is just rubbed in one place. The balloon is an
insulator. 2. The balloon will stick to all types of walls as well. The reason for this is that the neutral object is polarizing. When the charged object gets near the uncharged one, it attracts all of the opposite charges closer to the charged object.
When two materials are rubbed together (like a balloon and your hair), one will lose electrons and one will accumulate them. Producing Static Electricity
Sometimes the outer layer of the object has negatively-charged electrons and the atoms are rubbed off, producing atoms that have a positive charge. The balloon that did the rubbing will accumulate a negative charge as it gets extra electrons. During dry weather, these excess charges do not disappear very easily, and you get static electricity. During humid weather, the electrons flow through the damp air and the object become electrically neutral. Conclusions: I have learned that dry weather does create a static charge. But I’m not convinced the cold has anything to do with it. I do believe there is more humidity in the air on warm or hot days and this may be why they state that cold dry weather creates static charge. I think on a hot very dry day with no humidity we would see the same results. It seems the water or humidity in the air is what keeps the static charge low. I know this because when I added the water from the spray bottle to my hair the static charge was reduced and eventually eliminated.
