Connecting wire from battery terminal to electroscope

[zen-47]

What would happen to an electroscope if a wire from the negative or positive terminal of a battery is touched to an electroscope?

Will the electroscope deflect or will it do nothing?

 

[DrZoidberg]

If the battery voltage is high enough it will deflect. But the other terminal of the battery needs to be grounded.
You'd need a battery with a few hundred or a few thousand volt.
e.g. a "Zamboni Pile" like the one used in the Oxford Electric Bell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_Electric_Bell