All of these physics videos are truly great, and I bet you could up the production value and get them out there to a wider audience. I'm a physics graduate, and if I were exposed to such a wide array of experiments, I would have worked harder much earlier. Kudos!
I discovered your channel today and I'm so grateful for the fact that the Internet allows us to find people like you. Keep doing what you're doing! You're awesome and of course I subscribed
Hello Bruce, can you tell me what the purpose of the stopper is please, I guess it helps it hold the static charge for longer? Also, would a PVC rod work better than a pipe if that's the case? Love the video and thanks for your time :)
The stopper's function is not an important one, it's purpose is to hold the dowel at the end of the tube. The purpose of the dowel is to reach up and snag the loops off the ceiling when they get stuck there. Having it or not should nave not affect on the amount of charge. I would prefer the pipe since it has more surface area an should have a greater charger and hold it longer
Hi Bruce, I'm trying to get these rings floating currently. Have you ever had luck using a balloon instead of the pvc? I'm playing with both round balloons and "thunder stick" style. I'll be doing this with kids that are a little too young to be trusted running around with rigid sword shaped objects.
yes, a balloon works quite nicely, and for the rings, cut them out of plastic shopping bags, you may have a problem with this during the summer if it is humid, you can send me an email for more information. bgoknee@comcast.net
@@YeanyScience Thanks Bruce! It was the humidity causing problems. Giant 36" balloons were able to take on enough charge to still float the rings in a humid environment.
Tried this this morning, and it works beautifully! My 6yo was very excited by the magic levitating rings :) I used a ring made of a shopping bag charged with a wool jumper. One weird thing I noticed is that after a few goes, the ring will not charge up any more and no longer levitates, or sticks to the jumper. Made a new ring out of the same bag, and that one worked perfectly. Do you know what process is at work here?
Are you handling it, if you hands are moist that may be a cause, also the amount of humidity can be dampening out the effect. These can be a lot of fun but I find they are very sensitive to weather patterns and work the best in areas or times that are very dry, rainy days do not make for good results.
been thinking of things to do with my scouts and cubs, when i came across your vid. thanks i will be trying this with them in a static charged hoop and balloon relay.
due to the strength of the repelling electrons, the ring will move and if you dont move the pole with it, it will travel too far to the side until it falls. if you keep moving the pole, you'll keep the ring above it and floating. my question: What is a way to calculate the amount of static electric energy is in the entire system in order to determine when the ring will fall? rate of discharge?
I was hoping you'd put the tube (either of them) through one of the plastic rings. What would happen? Would the ring stay locked in position around the tube?
Hello Bruce, I do this in my classroom but found the plastic bag pieces eventually don’t work not matter how much you try to build up static electricity. I like to save the plastic pieces to reuse but it does not seem possible. After floating the pieces a few times it no longer works. Do you have any thoughts on this or are able to explain why this would happen?
Could you use your arm for the pole, if you used a thick rubber band on your upper arm to keep the charge local to your skin near your hand? So you could make it float seemingly out of nowhere? Just curious.
I love this experiment and would like to do it with my students. The first time I tried it with a tinsel ring and it worked perfectly. I haven't been able to recreate the experiment with successful results since the first time. I have used balloons, golf tube plastic pipes, pvc pipes and many types of materials including faux fur and wool. I do live in Florida and saw on another comment that weather can affect the charge. Is there a way to recreate the experiment and create enough static electricity to create the experiment with humid weather or will it not work? Thanks for your time I love the channel!
Now the question is, if you have the rod be a ring instead and place the plastic/styrofoam piece in the center, will it hover due to equal repelling forces on all sides?
It's an interesting video. Thanks @Bruce Yeany, for these educational videos. I've a doubt here. What would happen if we put the pvc pipe through the polythene rings. Will they hover and make a perfect circular ring (or oval shape, because of gravity)?
Is it because the charge always accumulates on the outer surface? So, the inner surface of the ring has opposite charge, and is attracted by the pvc pipe?
Hi! I am trying this for my science experiment yet it doesn't seem to quite work. It is currently winter but almost spring and I am worried it is too humid. I did everything exact yet it still wont work. Do you know why or have any tips?
I've tried it at home, but the plastic bag didn't float. When I put the bag on the tube, it even stuck with the tube. I followed your video, rubbed both the PVC tube and the plastic bag ring with a fake fur. Did I miss anything?
no, the foam can be cut out into different shapes, for example I've seen it done with the shape of a butterfly. the ring is just the easiest and very stable
the cap is not needed, it just holds the wooden dowel which I use to get the loop off the ceiling when it gets too high and sticks to the ceiling tiles
Experiment in skill, rather than science: Balance the ring atop the balloon atop the pipe (with charge, of course.) this is akin to saying "sure you can balance a ball on your finger, or another ball, but what about both?"
Hi Ryan, I have a new piece that goes a step further, a loop of PVC pipe that the ring floats above without me touching it or having to balance it by hand
next step: get one of those grounding pins and plug it in to the MINUS end of the electrical outlet, place the other end on a large cone, then charge a hollow foam cone and set it floating above it. awesomeness 2.0! (of course the ideal result is a floating chair on which to play video games)
a cube , since it seems to push it . but gravity leans to cause it to drop. just enought where something will stay in air forever. unsurpervised that will be cool. could be the image of a mascot team at the entrance . or ghost for halloween. sad thing new generations wont really notice things. just maybe.
You make science fun but don't ever seem to explain how it works to the point that it can be understood. I know it's charged with static electricity and the electrons repel each other but how? Same as the interesting Magnus effect video - I enjoyed the phenomena but I still don't know how it works.
What you're really asking is why do like charges repel each other and that's a really good question because nobody seems to explain the reason why. They always just say "like charges repel" but they never say the reason that this is true.
I am still alive, I just retired last year after 41 years teaching science middle school. I plan to continue working at a nearby college and hopefully will start posting more videos in the near future
