Light Up A Lightbulb With a Balloon!
Project Overview:
Ever wanted to turn a lightbulb on without plugging it in? Let’s do it! We will be making a light up right in your hands using zero outlets. We will build a tiny, wireless power grid right in the middle of the classroom. This is a great hands-on opportunity to witness how invisible electrical fields actually travel straight through the air to power things!
Materials:
1 long, tube-shaped fluorescent lightbulb (or a compact CFL bulb)
1 latex balloon
A dark room
A piece of 100% wool fabric (or your own clean, dry hair)
Instructions:
Take your materials into a room that you can make completely pitch black
Blow up the latex balloon and tie it closed
Rub the balloon against the wool fabric or your hair for about 30 seconds to build up a charge
Turn off all the lights until the room is completely dark, and let your eyes adjust for a moment
Hold the glass part of the lightbulb in one hand, and bring the charged balloon very close to the bulb without quite touching it. Watch the bulb magically flicker and glow!
Explanation:
You may be asking yourself how a simple balloon can force a lightbulb to glow without being plugged into electricity. The answer is static electrical fields moving gas atoms! When you rub the balloon, you take away tiny negative particles called electrons and trap them on the balloon's surface, creating a strong static electric charge. Fluorescent bulbs are filled with an invisible gas. When you bring the highly charged balloon near the lightbulb glass, its electrical field reaches through the air and excites the gas inside the bulb, making it release energy as light.
