Maxwell’s Third Equation: Invisible magnetic fields exert forces on magnets AND invisible electrical fields exert forces on objects. A field is an area around a electrical, magnetic or gravitational source that will create a force on another electrical, magnetic or gravitational source that comes within the reach of the field. In fields, the closer something gets to the source of the field, the stronger the force of the field gets. This is called the inverse square law.
Materials: balloon, magnet, small objects like paper clips or iron filings
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This might sound odd, but was she barefoot or wearing shoes? Have her wear shoes and stand on a wood or plastic step-stool or chair (not a metal one) and redo the experiment. Did that help?
Hi Aurora. Thanks for this wonderful website. 🙂 My daughter tried this out and couldn’t get her balloon to attract the water. I tried with the same balloon on my own hair and my sweater and it worked. I tried on her hair and it worked. She tried on my hair and my sweater and it didn’t work. It seems that when she was holding the balloon, the charge disappeared. What could be happening here?