Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I built an electroscope according to the directions in the science project on static electricity and materials that conduct static electricity but it doesn't work! Any ideas why not? I think I did it correctly.

Hello Lisawalker,

I'm assuming that you are working on the electroscope described here:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p023.shtml

From my reading of the procedure, I thought of these ideas for why the electroscope might not work.

1. The foil ball should not rest on the aluminum plate. You might check to make sure the ball is just above the plate but not touching it.

2. The foil ball might be too heavy. You might try a smaller foil ball.

3. The styrofoam plate doesn't have enough static charge. You might try again or try a different way to charge it.

4. The styrofoam plate lost its charge. Make sure the styrofoam doesn't touch anything metal other than the aluminum plate.

I hope this helps. Please post again if you have more questions.

A. Norman