- [Dr.

Rob] Are you feeling curious?

- [All] Yeah.

- Today on "Curious Crew"- - [Student] Whoa!

- We're all charged up.

I actually felt a little shock.

As we investigate static electricity.

(plate tins clanging) You won't wanna miss this shocking episode.

(laughs) That was a good one.

- [Student] Support for "Curious Crew", is provided by MSU Federal Credit Union, offering a variety of accounts for children and teens of all ages, while teaching lifelong saving habits.

More information is available at msufcu.org.

Also by the Consumer's Energy Foundation dedicated to ensuring Michigan residents have access to world-class educational resources.

More information is available at consumersenergy.com/foundation.

Consumer's energy foundation, supporting education and building sustainable communities in Michigan's hometowns.

And by viewers like you, thank you.

(upbeat techno music) - Hi, I'm Rob Stevenson, and this is... - [All] "Curious Crew."

- Welcome to the show, everybody.

We always like to start with a couple of discrepant events, because discrepant events stimulate... - [All] Curiosity!

- That's exactly right.

And I've got some fun ones for you today.

First of all, I got to point out a couple of interesting things I have on the table here but I'm gonna start with this little plastic cup down here.

Now, look closely my friends.

You're gonna notice, I have a nickel that's balanced on its edge and I even used a little tape just to make it easier on myself but you can balance it and do the same experiment.

And then I took a toothpick and balanced that on the edge of the nickel and placed a cup over the whole thing.

I've got a balloon here, and I'm going to rub it with a little bit of rabbits fur and I'd like somebody to make a guess on what you think is gonna happen, when I bring this balloon towards the cup.

Callan, what do you think is going to happen?

- I think the toothpick, is gonna turn.

- Okay, so I'm gonna rub this just a little bit and keep your eye on the toothpick.

- Ooh, check it out!

Good prediction Callan.

So not only did it spin, but it also fell.

Okay, let me set this aside for a second and yeah, you've even got some fur sticking onto my balloon there.

Okay, we'll talk about that too.

How many of you guys have ever seen one of these before?

Raise your hands, if you've ever seen a Van de Graaf generator before.

Excellent, this was invented by Robert Van de Graaf, in 1933 and I got to point out just a couple of interesting things.

I'm gonna be holding this wand and this wand has a little ground line that's gonna go all the way back here into the base.

Now, I also have taken these little pieces of ribbon and have them stuck on top in these little plumes.

So you guys keep an eye on that, while I turn this thing on.

(upbeat techno music) (Rob laughing) - [Student] That is adorable.

- [Rob] Okay, now watch what happens when I come in with the wand.

(static electricity buzzing) Ooh, did you notice that?

- Yeah.

(static electricity buzzing) - The Van de Graaf generator.

I'll set that aside for a second.

Okay, we've got some pretty interesting phenomenon here that we're gonna have to figure out.

Who would like to do a little scientific modeling to see if you can use the evidence through the show to see if you can come up with a scientific explanation for this.

Who would like to do a little modeling moments, you guys?

Okay, Kah'reice, Ollie, Janellyn, you guys gonna be working on that.

But first, what do you think we're gonna be exploring today?

Somebody have a guess, what we're gonna be exploring?

I've got this tricky toothpick, I've got this Van de Graaf plume over here.

What do you guys think?

Gibson, what do you think?

- I think we're gonna be talking about static electricity.

- Oh, static electricity.

Now, that would be shocking, wouldn't it?

To talk about static electricity.

Stick around, that's exactly what we're gonna be talking about.

See if you can try to explain these phenomena yourselves.

Pretty cool.

(upbeat techno music) - Let's figure out what's happening with these discrepant events.

- Well, we know the balloon was touched with static electricity because we could see it in the effects of the toothpick.

- Right, and obviously, the cup doesn't stop the electrons from traveling through.

It kind of reminds me of a magnet's attraction to a paperclip through a table.

- Yeah, actually that's a really good example of non touching forces.

I've seen a Van de Graaf generator before where a person was touching the dome and their hair stood up on end.

The plume was kind of like that.

So, I think the strands must be repelling.

- [Kah'reice] It was cool how the strands would move towards Dr.

Rob's wand.

(upbeat techno music) - To understand static electricity, we need to think about atoms.

Those tiny particles that make up everything that takes up space.

An Atom has a nucleus in the center, that holds neutrons and protons while electrons orbit the nucleus.

When two objects rub against each other, it's possible that some electrons could move from one object and join an atom on the other object.

The object with extra electrons, is negatively charged, while the object that lost electrons, is positively charged.

Those opposite charges attract, while the same charges will push apart or repel.

(upbeat techno music) - So, weren't those discrepant events interesting, you guys?

- [Both] Yeah.

- All right, for us to really start to understand static electricity, we need to start looking for evidence of static electricity.

And one of my favorite sources of evidence of static electricity, is with a balloon.

Have you ever seen someone stick a balloon to the wall Just using static electricity?

- No.

- Yeah.

- Okay Gibson, so you've seen that.

So, here's what we're gonna do.

I am going to charge up this balloon by rubbing it on this piece of fur, and I'm just going to place this against this little cardboard wall.

And you'll notice it just sort of sticks, which I think looks hilarious.

I like to call this the invisible shelf, 'cause it almost looks like it's on an invisible shelf.

Now, let's think about what's happening.

I charged up this balloon by rubbing it against the fur.

And when I do that, some of the electrons from the fur actually join the atoms that are already on the balloon.

So, it now has too many electrons and to try to get balanced, it becomes attracted to something that is neutral or positive.

And in this case, the wall.

Now what I'm going to be watching to see, is if this will stay stuck through this whole investigation.

So here's something else I want you to try.

Do you guys have your foam plates ready?

- [Both] Yeah.

- So I asked you guys, to put some paper punches on a foam plate.

Show me your balloons.

You got those ready too?

Okay - Yup.

Now, we're gonna charge them up.

What are you gonna use to charge yours, Callan?

- I'm gonna use my shirt.

- I love it.

What are you gonna use Gibson?

- I'm going to use the rabbits fur.

- Okay, charge them up, let's see what happens.

And what I'd like you to do, is then take this charged part of the balloon and place it right over your plate.

See what happens?

Hold it up.

Oh yeah, (laughs).

Oh, you got some too Callan, nice job.

Excellent, oh, and some of yours already fell but you have some that are clinging on just like my balloon on the invisible shelf.

We are collecting evidence of static electricity, you guys, this whole attraction of something that's charged to something that's not, is evidence of static electricity.

What's crazy, is sometimes you'll even get some of these charges back on the paper.

And when you go back down, they'll scatter all over the floor.

So I apologize now, if you have paper punches all over your floor.

(all laughing) So you're gonna notice, I also have these suspended balloons right here and I'm gonna do something that's kind of silly.

I'm actually gonna charge this one up with my hair because your hair is a great source of static electricity.

And let's see what happens if I bring those to... Oh, isn't that sweet?

But let's see what happens, if we charge both of them.

What do you think might happen now?

Oh no, oh no.

We've got great repulsion.

They're like, "Get away from me, get away from me."

So, interesting thing about static electricity, we can gather evidence in attraction and repulsion.

Static electricity, you gotta keep an eye out for it.

I even say it's kind of attractive.

- Here's a fun investigation to try, as the weather gets a little cooler, try sliding down a plastic slide and notice what happens to your hair.

Did it stand up?

Or notice how your socks stick to other clothes, when they first come out of a dryer.

Both of these, are examples of static forces.

The clothes in the dryer, get charged up as they tumble.

And if the sock has an opposite charge to another piece of clothing, they stick together.

When you go down the slide, you give electrons to the slide, making your body positively charged.

So even the individual hairs, start to repel and stand up.

Amazing.

(upbeat techno music) So, we're looking at the evidence of static electricity, this time through static.

Tauren, I have a question for you.

Have you ever accidentally shocked yourself with little static shock?

- Yeah.

- (laughs) It's kind of funny.

Kah'reice, has that ever happened to you?

- Yeah.

- Now, Static discharges, that's normal.

And it's great evidence that there is static electricity.

We are actually going to make a little generator that makes static electricity.

This is called an electrophorus.

And first, I wanna show you this one over here.

This is actually a professional electrophorus that has this plate that I can charge up like this, and put this on here, and then I can ground it and I can give a little shock.

But honestly, the one that I've made out of my household stuff works way better (laughs).

So, here's what I've got.

I've got a little plastic container and then I'm going to charge it up.

I'll use some felt this time but I could use a shirt, a scarf, a wool hat.

And what I'm gonna do, is I'm gonna charge this up and I'm gonna place this pie tin on top.

But notice the pie tin has this candle handle, so I can hold that and place it on here.

Now, comes the fun part.

I'm going to touch the lip of this.

I actually felt a little shock (laughs).

Okay, Tauren, I think you actually have one yourself.

Oh, I got another one.

Okay, charge your little bucket up, put your little tin on top and I'm gonna see if I can get mine going again and you'll have to tell me how well yours works.

When we place this on here, I feel a little shock now.

And you might be wondering why is that?

Well that's because... Oh, that was a good one (laughs).

That's because when I charge up the plastic, it ends up getting too many electrons.

And so the electrons that are in this pan, start trying to move away and repel.

I give a pathway away from them right now.

And when I lift it, it's positively charged.

Tauren, you hold it up.

Can you give yourself a shock?

I wanna see.

(laughs) A little shock.

It doesn't hurt, but it... Oh God, that was a good one.

Okay, another example of this static discharge.

Kah'reice, I think you've got a little piece of clay with a paperclip.

Hold that up, let me see it.

Oh, that's perfect.

Now what we're gonna do, is I'm gonna use this piece of felt and I'm gonna go ahead and encourage you to do this too.

I can either charge this piece of acetate, I could charge this piece of vinyl, I could charge this balloon and place it near the paperclip.

And if I listened closely, I might be able to hear it.

Ooh, that's kind of cool.

I'm gonna try that vinyl right now.

Which one's working for you, Kah'reice?

- The vinyl's, actually working the best for me.

- Vinyl's working the best for you, awesome.

So, you might've experienced a shock, just like the three of us have and oh yes.

And when you do, don't be surprised, but you can say, "Oh, my gosh!"

That's evidence of static electricity.

Have you ever walked across the carpet in your socks and then shocked herself on a doorknob?

Depending on what you are wearing on your feet, you're either stealing or losing electrons.

Either way, you begin to get charged.

And the more you shuffle your feet, the greater charge you have.

That metal door knob is a great conductor of electricity.

So when you touch it, the extra electrons jump off or onto you.

And that's called a static discharge.

Now, that's shocking.

(static electricity buzzing) - Hello down there.

- Hello.

- Hello.

(orchestral music) - [Man] STEM challenge.

- So, have you guys been having fun exploring static electricity?

- [All] Yeah.

- Awesome, well, I had a really fun STEM challenge for you.

You are going to make your own electroscope.

Now, an electroscope is a device that can detect the presence of static electricity.

And I happen to have a pretty nice one right here, on my table.

First thing I want to point out to you, is this one actually has a scale.

You'll see the numbers going from zero up to five and then there's going to be this metal plate, as well as this little needle.

And that little needle will move if I put something that is charged near that black circle at the bottom.

So, watch what happens when I bring in the balloon towards that black metal plate, watch the needle.

You can see it moving because we end up getting some of these charges that will go from the plate, all the way up to the needle and the metal.

And they repel each other.

Now, you guys are gonna make your own electroscope but you're gonna use something a lot easier, tissue paper.

Are you guys ready?

- [All] Yeah.

All right, let's go ahead and start these builds.

- I'm so bad at blowing a balloon (laughs).

Okay, it's a water balloon too (laughs).

- [Callan] Dr.

Rob has us making an electroscope.

So, basically what you should do, is you take tissue paper and like a balloon and you rub the balloon against something like fur or felt, and it statictizes the balloon.

And when you get it close to the tissue paper, it kind of makes the tissue paper move in different directions.

(balloon popping) - Yes, I got it (laughs).

The materials I'm having the best success with, is probably the styrofoam and the balloon and using the balloon in my hair (chuckles).

I'm making it (indistinct).

- This experiment is really fun because you can see static electricity in action.

And I am learning that different materials can have a different amount of static electricity.

- And you can even statictize yourself.

Yes.

- So, are you guys ready to show me your tissue paper electroscopes?

- [All] Yeah.

- Awesome.

Callan, what had the best effect for you?

- The vinyl and the rapid hair.

- Okay, so you charged it with the fur, excellent.

Okay Gibson, how about you?

What'd you have the most success with?

- I had the most success with the vinyl as well, rubbing it on the felt.

- And how about you, Tauren?

What'd you have the most success with?

- I had the most success with styrofoam, rubbing it against the felt.

- Excellent, do you think they should make their own electroscopes, you guys?

- [All] Yeah.

- Try it, it's really fun.

There are many examples of electroscopes that can show when an object has a static charge.

We made ours out of tissue paper and straws but one of the first was simply a pivoting needle that could rotate when a charged object was nearby.

Other examples include a pith ball electroscope of plant material hung from thread that would attract toward a nearby charged object or the gold leaf electroscope that could transfer electric charges through a touch of the metal plate down to the thin gold leaves that could repel when charged.

Try designing and making your own electroscope.

(upbeat techno music) - To really understand the discrepant events at the beginning you guys, we need another look at this Van de Graaf generator.

So, I have several investigations we're gonna do using this generator.

And I wanna start with a stack of tins.

Now, I'm gonna place this on top of the generator and turn it on.

Janellyn, what do you think is gonna happen?

- The tins will probably fly away everywhere.

- (laughs) She's predicting they're gonna fly away everywhere.

That's a fun prediction.

I wanna hold this wand because I wanna keep myself safe whenever possible.

And the important thing, is to make sure the wand is grounded.

So, any static discharge will go to the wand, back to the machine and not into me.

So, let's see what happens when we turn this on.

(static electricity buzzing) (plate tins clanging) That was a good prediction, Janellyn (laughs).

So, were we seeing attractive force or repulsive force?

What do you think, Janellyn?

- Repulsive.

- Repulsive force.

Now, keep in mind, the way a Van de Graaf generator works, it can get charged up and it will separate the positive and negative charges.

And so, we get similar charges up on top.

And if all of those start covering those pie tins, they want to repel away from each other.

Okay, let's take a look at this one now.

I've got this little ball, it's sorta been dipped in a little bit of metal I like to call this one, electric ping pong.

Ollie, what do you think is gonna happen?

- I think it's gonna fly away from the Van de Graaf.

So, let's get this going and I'll get my wand in hand.

So notice, whoa!

(static electricity buzzing) Wow, okay, so you'll notice it attracted at first.

I'm gonna discharge it, watch.

Oh now, ooh, now, ooh, ooh, ooh, boy.

Well ping-pong, ping-pong action going on there.

Oh, (laughs) wow.

Look at that.

That does not want to attract anymore.

So you'll notice at first, it attracts and it bounces over there and then it was repelling, 'cause it had the same charge.

And so, it was going around and around and around.

But then I could discharge it here.

You might've noticed as soon as I discharged it, it went flying back.

I even can play ping pong back and forth (laughs).

I have one more that I want to show you.

And this is called Volta's hailstorm.

First thing you have to know, is there's all this pith in here.

It's really lightweight material.

And I'm going to place this right over here.

And I'm going to ask, my crazy friend Ken, help me with the lights, help me with the lights.

Watch this closely my friends.

(dramatic music) (static electricity buzzing) What's that look like to you, Ollie?

- It looks like lightning.

- Exactly, you see a major discharge that goes to that upper dome and then it will actually jump to the bottom as well.

And amazingly, the pith goes up and down, as it's attracted to the top and then carries some electrons down to the bottom, up and down, up and down, as it's trying to move that charge along.

And every once in a while, you'll get a big static discharge on the top and everything stops.

Now, what would happen if I come in for a discharge over here?

Oh yes, I can sort of disrupt it over here and do some discharges myself.

Amazing, the Van de Graaf generator, is in a great example to show evidence of static electricity.

Pretty cool, don't you guys think?

- [Both] Yeah.

- We have seen how static electricity can build up in a Van de Graaf generator and produce an impressive static discharge with high voltage and little current.

Lightening though, is the most impressive and dangerous example of static electricity, that results from the collision of ice, rain and snow in the clouds, which causes the clouds to get charged.

At the same time, objects on the ground get positively charged and that imbalance among clouds or the clouds and the ground, can lead to impressive lightning strikes.

Paooh, static discharge!

(upbeat music) - Are you curious about in science?

- Hi, I'm Janellyn.

And today, I'm with astronaut Jessica Meir.

Jessica, how long have you been an astronaut?

And what is it like?

- I've been an astronaut since 2013 but it's something that I've thought about my entire life.

Biology was my favorite subject and that led to an interest in space as well.

- How is STEM incorporated into your job?

- So actually in order to become an astronaut, you have to have a degree in a STEM field.

That really is the building block of everything that we do as astronauts.

- What's it like in outer space?

How would you describe it?

It just never gets old to be floating all of the time and to be looking out the window and having the most extraordinary view.

Gets this perspective that allows us to see how connected we truly are as humans and that we really are all in this together.

(dramatic music) - Talking with astronaut, Jessica Meir was out of this world.

Explore your possibilities.

(upbeat music) - And now, back to" Curious Crew."

(upbeat music) - Woo.

- Woo - Woo.

(upbeat techno music) - We know, that when Dr.

Rob rubbed the balloon, it took extra electrons and then negatively charged them just like the paper punch.

- Right, and then the positive charges on the toothpick, were attracted to that, making it move and then eventually fall off.

- And we know that attractions can be pretty strong, just like the balloon sticking to the wall.

- Yeah, and it's opposite with the plume on the Van de Graaf.

Those strands repelling, so they must have the same charge, either positive or negative.

- Every time Dr.

Rob brought in the grounded wand, they were attracted to it probably to get balanced again.

- Yeah and that's when there'd be static discharge too.

And then the plume would drop before getting charged up again.

It's kind of like the recharging of the electrophorus but the Van de Graaf just happens faster.

(upbeat music) - So, have you guys had fun exploring static electricity today?

- [All] Yeah.

- Awesome, well, we've got to go back to look at these discrepant events because these are a little interesting.

I know three of you have been working really hard doing some modeling to try to explain these.

So Kah'reice, what have you guys figured out on this tricky toothpick?

- We think the balloon is getting negatively charged with the extra electrons.

When the balloon comes near the cup, the positive electrons and the toothpick are attracted to the balloon.

- Excellent job.

So, we know this becomes negatively charged and we even have evidence of that because all these little hairs are from the rabbit's fur sticking to it too.

Now, it's a little tricky to balance a toothpick on the edge of a nickel.

So, if you want a shortcut or an easy way to do this, you can take a pin or a tack and put it upright into a lump of clay.

Just be really careful you don't poke yourself.

And then you can put a little square piece of paper on top, which is much easier to balance.

But it still looks impressive to cover it with a cup.

Now, if you don't have rabbits fur, you can also use your hair.

You can use your shirt and see what you can get it to do.

You can get it to dance around, fall off even spin a little bit, which is interesting.

Nice job, you guys.

All right, so Ollie, what have we figured out on this Van de Graaf plume?

- We're pretty sure that the plume, is an example of repulsion and that the generator charges the strands.

And we also think that the generator charges the dome that spreads over the strands, and because the charges are opposite, they repel from each other, kind of like the flying tins.

- Okay, great.

Then what happens when I come in with the grounded wand, Janellyn?

- Well, because the wand is grounded, it provides a pathway for the particles to move either by jumping to the wand or clinging to it.

It's a static discharge.

Then the strands get charged up all over again.

- All right, I'm gonna even show you something else, which I find fascinating.

Now, I've thought about safety first and I've unplugged the Van de Graaf generator.

And I actually want to open up the top, so you can see what's inside.

So the dome can actually come off and I'm just gonna tip it forward, so we can see what's in there.

So we end up having these rollers, this giant rubber band that goes through the tube that we can see but the rollers are the key.

They have different materials from the top roller and bottom roller.

And when it charges up, these charges can come across on this metal comb and start covering the entire dome.

Now, depending upon the materials of the roller, you can end up with a positive charge on top or a negative charge on top, but either way, this wand will help that static discharge take place, so we can get back to neutral, ain't that amazing?

- [All] Yeah.

- So, whether we're talking about those clinging socks fresh out of the dryer or that amazing lightning bolt, we have great evidence of static electricity and I think that's well electrifying.

So remember my friends... - [All] Stay Curious!

- And keep experimenting.

Get your curiosity guide and see more programs at wkar.org.

- [Student] Support for "Curious Crew", is provided by MSU Federal Credit Union offering a variety of accounts for children and teens of all ages while teaching lifelong saving habits.

More information is available at msufcu.org.

Also by the Consumer's Energy Foundation, dedicated to ensuring Michigan residents have access to world-class educational resources.

More information is available at consumersenergy.com/foundation.

Consumer's Energy Foundation, supporting education and building sustainable communities in Michigan's hometowns.

And by viewers like you, thank you.

- I like (mumbles).

- [Woman] We got some (indistinct).

- So whether we're talking about those (laughs), let me try that again.

(upbeat music) - Oh, I got it.

(all laughing) - I heard it and it scared me.

(chiming music)