Rubber Bands & Paper Attraction

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the phenomenon of attraction between rubber bands and paper, drawing inspiration from historical experiments by Michael Faraday. Participants share their personal attempts to replicate similar effects using various materials and express curiosity about achieving lasting attraction without the limitations of balloons.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes their unsuccessful attempts to create attraction using rosin, wool-like material, and finely cut paper, while noting success with balloons and hair.
  • The same participant expresses a desire for a more durable solution than balloons for achieving paper attraction.
  • Other posts primarily address forum account management rather than the scientific inquiry.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the effectiveness of rubber bands for attracting paper, as the main inquiry remains unresolved with no definitive answers provided.

Contextual Notes

The discussion lacks detailed exploration of the underlying physical principles that might explain the attraction, and there are no mathematical or experimental steps provided to clarify the phenomenon.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in electrostatic phenomena, historical experiments in physics, or those exploring practical applications of static electricity may find this discussion relevant.

Cluemore
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TL;DR
I am playing around with basic things at home to see some electrical phenomena.
I was reading Michael Faraday's story, and it described him using amber, wool, and small pieces of paper to bring about an amber-paper attraction.

I tried doing this using the rosin from my violin case, wool-like material I found in my parent's room, and cutting up pieces of paper (very finely) using scissors.

Wasn't successful, but I have definitely done this using balloon, my hair, and paper. I am sure you have mostly seen this one, so I won't bother describing it.

I am just wondering, has anyone successfully got rubber bands and paper to attract? Balloons only last long (or pop), so I am looking for something that just lasts and reproduces the attraction effect.

P.S. I used to be on this forum and called myself "Clueless" so I made another account called "Cluemore" :P
 
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@berkeman thanks for letting me know. I won't be using the other account. I intend to continue using this one from here on.
 
Cluemore said:
@berkeman thanks for letting me know. I won't be using the other account. I intend to continue using this one from here on.
Greg has merged your old account into this new one of yours.
 
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Cluemore said:
Awesome! Thanks @berkeman and @Greg (which greg? there are two)
Greg Bernhardt, the owner/boss of this site. :bow:
 

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