Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I'm able to transfer a charge from the acrylic sheet to the aluminum foil plate to the leyden jar but can't transfer the charge from the leyden jar to the aluminum sheet. What am I doing wrong? Help!

Hi Nicholas!
It is a little hard to diagnose what went wrong with only the information provided here. Do make sure to only touch the outside foil of the Leyden jar and to pick up the electrophorus by the Styrofoam cup. Also try rubbing the electrophorus for a little longer time than is written in the procedure. Let us know if you are still having problems! Good luck!

Hi Nicholas,

It's hard to trouble-shoot remotely. Some ideas:

1. how do you know you transfered the charge?
2. double checking your setup/instructions vs. the project description in: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p049.shtml

Sorry I can't be of more help since I've never built a Leyden jar.

ok ill try both of them,thank you both. ill respond and tell yall my results thank you again!

ok i tryed them i just don't know what to do now, i'll just trouble shoot from here on.

If you use the same aluminum sheet to transfer charge into the Leyden Jar that you are trying to use to transfer charge out and you have kept the aluminum sheet otherwise insulated, then it probalby already has as much charge as it will hold with respect to the charge in the Leyden jar.

You need to understand that when you transfer charge, you are balancing the charge density on the two items. Did you make an electroscope so that you have some relative means of measuring the charge? Did you touch the aluminum sheet to a known earth ground connection? If not, try doing that between the two transfer operations. Why that works is that the earth is so large with respect to the aluminum plate that the vast majority of any charge will be transfered to the earth leaving the aluminum plate at "ground (earth) potential".

If this doesn't solve your problem you are probably going to have to get some local help where they can see what is happening.

ok thanks ill try not to ground it.

ok well my science teacher told me to do more cycles and cut my aluminum sheet in half and make sure my wire was 6 inches.

ok im just going to stick with my original plan

hi !!guys !!!! particularly nicholas, i have a little brother like him , who is working on this similar type of science project at his school,
he wanted my help in this. bassically i does not know well at all this thing, but i surf through this forum,
i find out how to help my bro. in his project..
thanks to all of u guys for helping me indirectaly.......

Sightline Payments Kirk Sanford
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