How to make an electroscope (DIY)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- How to make an electroscope using things you have around the house, how an electroscope works, and demonstrations using the triboelectric effect.
Support RimstarOrg on Patreon www.patreon.co...
Subscribe for new videos every week www.youtube.com...
Go to the main channel page here / rimstarorg
For more electroscope information, see my webpage: rimstar.org/equ...
See also:
Triboelectric effect/series or triboelectricity
• Triboelectric effect/s...
Inductive Charging using an Electroscope
• Inductive Charging usi...
Follow behind-the-scenes on:
Twitter #!...
Google+ plus.google.co...
Facebook / rimstarorg
rimstar.org
One other suggestion since you seem to have a deadline... I just rubbed an empty plastic Coke bottle, which is made of vinyl or some other plastic, against my jeans pants and the bottle became charged. I also rubbed it against my sweather and it became charged by that too. All kinds of things work.
Yes
Those who watched this video were all worried bout their projects like me 😊..
True like me
No
True
9th grade right
Hahahah
ty ..now thats going to be my physics project
how are u today
for me chemistry project ?
Kunal Batra mine too
Kunal Batra I did mine like this and it works. Thanks
Me 2🌚
Regarding the what happens with a positive charge, you're right.
Regarding the humidity, the issue is with the charging and not the electroscope at all. So I guess the electroscope can be in a humid room as long as you rubbed the two objects together in a dry room, or charged the object in some way that didn't have a problem with humidity, like an electronic high voltage power supply.
Glad to hear you like the videos! Thanks for letting me know.
oh man, I had to do a project in the school about this, and this video was perfect to show me how to build an elctroscope and how does it work. It helped me a lot!! you have won a subscriber!! :D (sorry for the bad English, I'm catalan xd)
How to explain?
Enric Garriga Sànchez
I might also subscribe
Wow! I'm so happy to hear that. I remember participating in science fairs myself. Congradulations!
Oh my god thats an old comment
very very very very very old comment
@@shahiq9974 yes yes
Incredibly old....
I was reading these comments....and when I read these replies and I checked....its a 12 year old comment!!! The person whoever wrote this...wrote this in the year I was born...this is written before I was born 😭
I have lots of problems with humidity in my town, like you say charging an object even with a HV power supply charge does not stay a lot.
I'm really thankful for choosing me as your beta tester for TH-cam recommendations
Nice and clear simple and quick to make.
2 notes
If the leaves touch the glass they transfer a charge you can see this at the end of the video the last few frames the leaf magically jumps to the jar wall and back in to equalize charge as it bleeds off the curly end into the air. This is why the scope appear less sensitive as you use it in the video. You can ground the leaves by touching the probe with your hand. you may need to ground the glass where it touched which is why on some versions you see rods between the leaves and the sides.
and with very high voltages sharp corners/edges/points bleed voltage which is why on most of those old machines everything is tube and ball looking
I am watching in 2020. And this is an useful video
I am waiting in 2024😅
Wonderful presentation. Thank you very much. I just made one to show our children... We appreciate your time and effort!
Oh. When I searched for "BSA Nuclear Science Merit Badge", the only mention of electroscope in the requirements was this: "Build an electroscope. Show how it works. Place a radiation source inside and explain any difference seen." Americium-241 is a radiation source, which I happen to have because I took some from some ionizing type home smoke detectors. Oh, well. This is a super cool experiment anyway so I'm glad for my misunderstanding! Good luck getting your badge. Looks like lots of fun!
Check the foil leafs in the jar to make sure they can move freely. It's also possible the problem is not with the electroscope but with the charged objects. If the air is too humid then it's harder to charge them. Maybe the air was drier the first time you did it. Also, try many different objects. Also, if I use a drinking glass as the object, it works only the first time and then I have to clean it thoroughly with soap and hot water because my hands put grease on it, stopping the charging.
this guy is a legend
answering your comments 15 years later is crazy
You mean like this? :-) Thanks. This video is special; I made it before TH-cam even had ads, was fun to make and has helped a lot of young students over the years, Hopefully it'll keep doing that for another 15!
Thank you sooooo much
this helped me alot as i needed this for a physics project
I am a student from Greece. Great job! I'll try to make this!...
Yes, as long as it is lightweight and can move freely. The force causing the foils to separate isn't usually very strong, depending on your charged object. There are other metal foils at hobby and craft stores (brass, copper, steel), some candy wrappers, aluminum from soda cans. The foil must be electrically conductive metal and make sure the place where the foils contact the hook that they hang from is electrically conductive - no coating of any kind.
Thank you
This video helps a lot to my project thanks
In this case it's not the size that's important since the area of the disk and blinds that faces the electroscope terminal are the same, although the disk has grooves in it so it actually does have more area. The material is also matters. They're both vinyl but they may also have coatings on them since they're different colors. If you look at my triboelectric effect video (see link in the description below the video) you'll see some materials become more charged than others too.
YOU SAVED A STUDENT LIFE.THANK YOU SOO MUCH.God I was on the edge of throwing myself out of the window.thanks again🙌🏻🙌🏻
Cool! I'm always delighted to hear when it works out!
I used this for a 5'th Grade PI and i got a 100!Thank you for making this video!:D
You're welcome. I love hearing when it's used in real life, so thanks for letting me know.
omg this is a life saver because i have extra credit in science and i really need it and she told us to make this and write a paragraph of how it works and this video is perfectttt!!!! omg thank you so much!! :)
@5MrPurple It's optional. It's there only to hold the wire in place as it goes through the cover. You can use tape, glue, a tight fit, or whatever you can come up with in order to support the wire. Heck, the wire can even go through the hole in the cover and then be bent flat sitting on top of the cover, in which case you don't need to support it at all. Maybe just tape it flat to the cover so it doesn't move around.
Thank you so much RimstarOrg. Because of you my project is completed and now my leaves are also repeling. Don't know how to thank you
Rahul030202 You're welcome. And hearing that it worked out for you is thanks enough for me.
RimstarOrg thank you so much
Yay! It almost always is the charging that's the problem. Super glad to hear you're project worked out.
I remember watching this video 6 years ago back in grade 7, it’s funny to see how many students are still watching and learning from this video after so long
@swordswordswords The vinyl is non-electrically conductive so the charge won't conduct away to your hand in that direction, regardless of your skin conductivity. Good suggestion re the dryer.
thank u fr this video i had one activity and its very useful thank u again
+Fantage Candy (Mithra Madhu) instead of plastic pipe can we use a straw ?
Fantage Candy
Yes, you can use a straw instead. It is there only to hold the wire in place. If you have any other way of holding the wire in place then that will be fine too.
+RimstarOrg ok sir thank u
plsss replay for me
Thanks for this because this is my holiday homework project
Cool. Make sure to check out this other video of mine about triboelectricity th-cam.com/video/ey88EdZo9hU/w-d-xo.html. It gives more examples of charging objects to test with the electroscope. If you read through the comments, you'll find that that's one of the biggest things people have problems with.
I agree. A lot of people have used it for science projects and got it working just fine. For other charged objects you can rub a plastic coke bottle or rubber balloon against your hair and bring the bottle or balloon near the electroscope terminal.
School science project. Learning tool for learning about electrostatics. Useful tool. I do a lot of work with high voltages and I use this to detect if something is charged and even to test whether something is positively or negatively charged.
doing this for the nuclear science merit badge for boy scouts!
Same here
same
Same
THANKS MAN, YOU SAVED MY LIFE IN SCHOOL!
@SquishyRhinoes A paperclip would work. Any bare, uninsulated wire, will work.
Thank you very much for this video,it was my homework to make an electroscope and I am really thankful 👌👌👌
Thanks! It's probably good because this is a tool I actually use in my experiments.
Superb sir this concept helped me to explain in my school
thanks its so help full for me
nice
It's very help full to me thanks
Thank a lot
Yes! It finally worked, thank you so much for this video! My problem was just really the charged object. :) Do you have any suggestions for other objects that I could use ? I am currently just rubbing plastic cover on my hair because unfortunately I don't have any vinyl fabric around.
I think this would also work with a simple ruler. I just noticed this was 8 years ago
Thank you so much for uploading this video.....tomorrow is my project and I was really worried abt it
Thanks for the feedback folks! Making it helpful was what I was after. This is definately encouraging me to make a complete Wimshurst machine explanation video I've been planning on.
Thank you from Slovakia :)
Anyone 2024
me
2025
Oh God Thats Great.
I am going to make it and show to my physics teacher.
he will be proud :D
many thanks for such a great work :)
@ThePunchClock You're welcome, my friend.
Thank you soo much brother
It was my science project and I have to make working model of electroscope and by seeing this it is too easy for me to make electroscope ....😊
Thank you soo much
You're welcome. I'm glad it helped.
Just to anyone watching it in the future: you get a huge charge if you rub the vinyl against your hair.
SO DOING IT
Hover Myr ty bro
Thank you - from the future
Its 2018 and you're still saving lives
Thanks-2019
Thanks for sharing it
It was so helpful because my son on the 4th grade has a science homework to do a simple electroscope
Thank you
You're welcome. A tip is that the problem most people run into is in charging an object. I have another video to help with that in case you run into problems th-cam.com/video/6x6DqPL14yU/w-d-xo.html Have fun!
wow,I'm impressed 😄😯😙
No body cares btw very late response
This project is good for science fair! Awesome
@msdomy1998 You're welcome! Croatia seems to be the place for electrostatics! Another video should be ready in a day or two. Thanks for the thumbs up.
Too good ....For my project
thank you for making this video!
im planning to make this for a science assignment at school and i was wondering if there was anything else i could use for the coper wire and also is there any object you could suggest to use to charge the electroscope? thanks
I got it from household wiring, the wire in our walls here in North America. I have a roll of it since it's nice and thick and I find it useful for projects. Find out where your electricians buy their wire. Here we can find it at Home Depot as well as specialty stores. A metal wire coat hanger will also work. Just make sure you scrape off any coating where it will be in contact with the two foil leafs.
@akosijabo06 Yes, you can.
Thanks alot! This really helped me at the last moment when i couldnt figure out what to make for my physics assignment.
You're welcome! I can certainly sympathize with that!
@vestprend1993 The ends of my wire were sharp so I put a little round bit of solder on them using a soldering iron. I could just have easily sanded the ends round. I probably didn't need to do this anyway, just a habit from working with high voltage a lot, so I don't think that's your problem. Can you give more details of how yours is made.
Oh! Cool idea! I just tried it and it works. The leafs separate. I also did a test using the electroscope and induction to see if the screen is positively or negatively charged. The screen is positively charged. I sense a video in the making :). Thanks!
Awesome phenomena.
1st question... All electroscopes measure the charge on an object by moving it close to something that will show a physical effect e.g. the two foils move away from each other. But the devices can be different; search for pith ball electroscope. 2nd question... The electroscope can have a NET negative charge, i.e. more negative electrons than positive protons. But you can't get rid of the protons. Only electrons move.
@semih007gmailcom Done already :). See my triboelectric effect video, there's a link to it at the end of this video and in the description.
Thanks again! I glad your enjoying these videos.
Positive charges are the ones that makes the foils to repel
Just kidding
Exactly, RimstarOrg. You can use a marker or highlighter to color half of the strip (or color both halves, red/white, red/black, whatever). Place a charged object near to the glass without touching it and watch the paper react. The trick is to poke the center of the strip onto the needle in a balanced way. Careful as too strong a charge can push the paper off the needle. Also glue the eraser to the bottom of the glass to make it portable. Although I have not tested this portable version myself.
cant it be of other steel instead of copper
+abiral saurab Yes, it can be steel, or any conductive metal.
+RimstarOrg that answers my question kind of, will and old wire hangar work
Any metal will do.
No, I think I was just wondering if anyone else here was working on the Nuclear Science MB too. It's pretty fun stuff!
One of the requirements was that I had to build an electroscope. But I don't think I know anything advanced like the stuff you just explained! You're quite knowledgeable!
is this gd for 4 spirits of family that have passed away
Teresa Vera no omg
for 4 ?
Man you are awesome!! I love your vids!!!
Could you also use cardboard for the lid
9marbella Yes. You can even use the original lid that came with the container if you want to.
RimstarOrg could we us cardboard for the lid
RimstarOrg thank you very much
RimstarOrg how many inches does the copper wire have to be
RimstarOrg HOW LONG DOES THE COPPER WIRE HAVE TO BE
Glad to hear it worked. Thanks for letting me know what fixed it.
hey man please can you list all the ingrediants again
I'm puzzled by your request. In the video I show all the parts one by one. Is that not clear enough? I'd really like to know since I get asked this every now and then.
You could just replay the video...
thanks man i am from croatia! i maked this for about 1 hour! make more videos! thumbs up ;)
who's watching this video in 2022 😂
one man have no life.... Thank you very much for the tutorial. it's awesome.
i got it to work, it was all humidity, thanks for this awesome project
yes thank you so much i got it to work the problem was that the materials were not charged right that you so much for this video and your help it saved my science project
So that's an aluminium-leaf electroscope. Simple and easy. Great for demonstrations.
Thanks
This helped me with my Physics project
Thanks! I'm glad so many people like it.
Hey u still on?
@RimstarOrg Thanks sooo much!!! It was too humid. You were a big help!!!!
This video will help me in my project.
Thank you so much for this, my teacher was really impressed.
Also, did you know that in our school, our science holiday homework was to make an electroscope, and the link they gave was your video!
You're welcome. And I'm glad to hear my video is helping your school. Thanks!
It's an insulator because it doesn't conduct electricity. E.g. copper is a conductor - electrons travel through or along its surface easily. But electrons don't travel easily through or along the surface of cotton.
But due to the triboelectric effect electrons can be removed from the surface of cotton if rubbed with vinyl. And electrons can be deposited on the surface of cotton if rubbed with glass. In both cases it's not conducting electrons, just collecting or losing them from its surface.
It was really helpful for a school project
these using a glass jar, a metal lid with a hole punched through and a pen shaft to insert the copper wire (not even very high gauge). Worked really well even with the high humidity in my house. Could even charge by induction by grounding it with my hand. Thanks, will uses as a demo in my class.
Sounds good. Have fun demoing it!
RimstarOrg
My students really enjoyed. Thanks worked really well.
Thank you for TH-caming so much you thought me more about electricity than I new before. I now read books and you have inspired me to read more.... I am now making a payout rate on my raspberry pi for my arcade claw machine and using zanier diodes and 12 volt voltage regulators to make it easier for it to control
Easily and quickly to make.good work man.👌🤘
Interesting question. If the clouds are charged one way before a lightning strike, is the air near the ground charged the other way? However, that would mean the air surrounding the foil leafs is also charged. So even though the leafs have a net charge that would normally cause them to repel each other, the surrounding air has the same net charge and so nothing would happen. That's my guess. But I'm also guessing the air won't be charged enough to begin with. Try it and see, but do it indoors.
It's made of one of the plastics, polyethylene terephtalate (PET) I think. And jean pants are cotton. If you look at the triboelectric series you'll see that polyethylene is at the negative end with respect to cotton which is near the middle and more toward the positive end from polyethylene. So the coke bottle gets negatively charged. And I'm glad I could help.
شكرا 🌹
Thanks so much I'm glad you helped me after all these years !
It's not necessary to have the ends soldered. The most frequent problem is not with the electroscope but with the charged objects. If the air is very humid then it's hard to charge things. Also, try charging different objects: rub a plastic coke bottle, a balloon or a plastic comb against your hair and use the coke bottle, balloon or plastic comb. Oh, and the container used for the electroscope must not be metal. Does any of that help? Otherwise, describe what you've done. I'm happy to help.
@IRmShaDe You're welcome. It is a surprisingly useful tool. I used it again just last week.
I was chased out of the physics lesson because of not having the gold leaf electroscope but thanks for the help with this video
Thanks bro
Thanks
This project is very useful .Thanks
Yes and wire, metal rod, electrically conductive material will work. The important thing is that the wire must be bare, no insulation, where it comes in contact with the foil leafs.
No, the electroscope doesn't need to be airtight at all. But the jar is useful for keeping wind or moving air from disturbing the foil leafs while you're making a measurement.