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Have you ever seen a levitating orb? A real orb just floating in the air. This is not some magic

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Have you ever seen a levitating orb? A real orb just floating in the air. This is not some magic trick, it is science. To make the orb levitate you must first know about electricity and how it works. Static electricity is what causes it to levitate.

To understand how this electricity works we must start with the basics. The atom is the smallest unit of matter, consisting of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons have a positive charge, neutrons have no charge, and electrons have a negative charge. Electric charges that are the same repel each other and charges that are different attract each other. Electric charges can exist alone, unlike magnetic poles.

Electric force is the attraction or repulsion between electric charges. …show more content…

When the objects rub together electrons can move to the other object. Charging by conduction is the transfer of electrons by direct contact. Charging by induction is the movement of electrons to one part of an object that is caused by the electric field and second object.

To detect electric charge scientists use an electroscope. See figure 1. An electroscope consists of a metal rod with a knob and two thin metal leaves at the bottom. When the electroscope has no charge, the metal leaves hang straight down. When a charged object touches the knob the metals leaves repel each other.

Charges that build up as static electricity on an object do not stay there forever. Electrons like to move, returning to the object to its neutral state. When a negatively charged object and a positively charged object come together, electrons transfer until both objects have an equal charge. The loss of static electricity as electric charges transfer is called static discharge. Normally, a static discharge creates a spark. When electrons transfer between objects they heat the air around the path until it glows, which is the spark we see.

The fabrics that I am using are, a polyester blanket, my long hair and a cotton sweatshirt. Polyester tends to gain a negative charge and attract electrons. Human hair tends to give up electrons and gain a positive charge. I am also using a cotton sweatshirt and

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