Electrostatics - Cans & Charged Rods



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 Code Number :   5A40.20

Disclaimer:

Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website.

The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources.

Further information regarding legal liability in use of demonstrations and labs will be found on the web site Injuries in School/College Laboratories in USA.

The University of Iowa Disclaimers:  University of Iowa Disclaimer All Rights Reserved..
Condition :   Good   
Principle :   Electrostatics  
Area of Study :  Electricity & Magnetism  
Equipment :   Plexiglas or PVC rods, cats fur, silk, 2 Liter plastic bottles, pop cans with no dents.
Procedure :   Charge the PVC rod with the cats fur and bring near the pop can or the plastic bottle.  The pop can should be attracted to the rod and then repelled after it touches the rod.  The pop can will roll across the table by attracting or chasing it with a charged rod.
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   References

Gordon R. Gore, "The Mysterious Rolling Pop Can," TPT, Vol. 41, # 9, Dec. 2003, p. 548

Michael H. Brown, "Fun With Charged Bottles," TPT, Vol. 34, # 7, p. 409, (Oct. 1996).

 

Gorazd Planinsic, Tomaz Prosen, "Conducting Rod on the Axis of a Charged Ring: The Kelvin Water Drop Generator", AJP, Vol. 68, # 12, Dec. 2000, p. 1084.

 

E- 085:  "Attract 2X4 with Rod-Roll Can,"  DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook.

 

Janice VanCleave, "Puller," 201 Awesome, Magical, Bizarre, & Incredible Experiments, p. 107.

Robert Ehrlich,  "Charge-Propelled Aluminum Can,"  Turning the World Inside Out, p. 149.

 

Mail Questions and Comments to:  Dale Stille