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ERIC Number: EJ1085697
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Jan
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
Polarizing PVC--A Discrepant Event
Headly, David; Karabatek, Mohamed
Physics Teacher, v54 n1 p6-7 Jan 2016
This article describes an experiment teaching polarization phenomena and the Triboelectric Series in a unit on electrostatics. Using rods (2-3 ft in length) made from wood, aluminum, PVC, and Plexiglas on an inverted watch glass, these items demonstrated to the class how a party balloon rubbed with fake rabbit fur (charging the balloon negative) would always attract the uncharged rods, causing them to rotate towards the balloon. With the help of a student as part of his senior project, a further investigation of the source of the negative charge that exists on PVC was conducted. Questions to be answered were: was it nothing more than static charge that builds up on the pipe from unavoidable contact with its surroundings, or is it somehow intrinsic to the manufacturing process? The results showed that the PVC's charge is being acquired from its surroundings. A look at at the Triboelectric Series showed that PVC is near the bottom of the list, indicating that it prefers to acquire negative charge when rubbed with most other materials.
American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://scitation.aip.org/tpt
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A