How can you use electricity to create static charge and bend water?

AI Thread Summary
Static electricity can be generated by rubbing materials together, like a plastic tube on hair, which can bend a stream of water. Using electricity alone to charge a plastic pipe is challenging, as batteries are not effective for this purpose. Charging via conduction or induction with conductive materials is more feasible. Induction can be used to charge a grounded metal object, which can then influence the water stream. Overall, while static electricity can be created electrically, using a battery to replicate the effect is not practical.
Bonez
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Hello all, I watched a youtube video where you can rub a plastic tube on your hair, and the static electricity generated will pull a stream of water falling from a faucet.



My question is, how would this be possible to do electrically? Meaning, using electricity or a battery powered device instead of rubbing 2 materials together? Is it possible?

If so, what materials and voltages/currents would be necessary?

Thanks
 
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Read up some on electrostatics, the current/voltage/ or what not isn't important here. It's important that the object you're using has a negative or positive net charge. Friction charges the objects in the video, and is idea since they aren’t good conductors. Conduction and induction on the other hand work well with conducting materials such as metals.
 
Static electricity often corresponds to very large voltages - hundreds of volts (but tiny amounts of charges, so it is not dangerous). You won't be able to reproduce this with a battery, no matter what you do with it.
 
Actually static electricity is many volts AND amps but just for a few trillionths of a second
 
Thank you all for the replies. I am really struggling to wrap my mind around static electricity.

I guess what I am trying to ask is, how could you charge the plastic pipe using only electricity? Or, how could you simulate the same effect using AC/DC electricity and same/other materials? It doesn't seem possible to me.
 
Bonez said:
Thank you all for the replies. I am really struggling to wrap my mind around static electricity.

I guess what I am trying to ask is, how could you charge the plastic pipe using only electricity? Or, how could you simulate the same effect using AC/DC electricity and same/other materials? It doesn't seem possible to me.

Plastic pipe + electricity = lot of trouble for no real reason.

What you can do is charge a plastic pipe with your hair and use induction to charge a metal object that's grounded. Then you can bend water with it.

You can charge objects with electricity, but a battery isn't going to be sufficient or ideal.
 

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