Static Flyer - The Flying Bag

Charge a balloon and use the electrical charges of static electricity to create flying objects!

Who needs a magic wand to create levitating objects when you have a balloon? Well, if you know how static electricity works, you won't need a wand! In the Static Flyer experiment, we'll teach you how understanding electrical charges can result in a trick that would make Harry Potter, Gandalf the Grey, and even Merlin jealous.

Materials

Cotton towel
Plastic produce bag
Scissors
Balloon

Experiment
Video
Reviews

Use a pair of scissors to cut a strip from the open end of the produce bag. Once the strip is cut, you should have a plastic band or ring.
Blow up a balloon to its full size and tie off the end.
Rub the cotton towel over the surface of the balloon for 30-45 seconds.
Flatten the plastic band on a hard surface and gently rub the towel on the band for 30-45 seconds.
Hold the plastic band about one foot over the balloon and release it. Holy guacamole... the plastic band is levitating!

Take It Further!

What other objects can you use to levitate the plastic band?
Are there other shapes, besides the plastic band, that you can levitate?

How does it work?

Rubbing the towel against the balloon and the plastic band transfers a negative charge to both objects. The band floats above the balloon because the like charges repel one another. If you really want to impress someone, just tell them that it's a demonstration of "electrostatic propulsion and the repulsion of like charge." That should do it.

When you rub a balloon on someone's hair the balloon picks up electrons, leaving it negatively charged and the hair positively charged. Because opposite charges attract, bringing the balloon near the hair causes the hair to stand up.

When you bring a charged balloon near pieces of paper, the paper isn't charged so you might expect nothing to happen. But the paper is attracted to the balloon. Why? The negative charge on the balloon repels the electrons in the paper, making them (on average) farther from the balloon's charge than are the positive charges in the paper. Because electrical forces decrease in strength with distance, the attraction between the negatives and positives is stronger than the repulsion between the negatives and negatives. This leads to an overall attraction. The paper is said to have an induced charge. This explanation applies to a charged balloon sticking to a wall and a charged balloon attracting other uncharged objects.

Worked great!

John E - March 19, 2013

This user gave 5/5 stars

I tried this at cub scouts and it worked great. I had tried it the day before at home and had mixed results, so I was a little worried. I used cotton towels and also a wool blanket and they all worked well. Some tips:

- throw the towel or blanket in the dryer for 5 minutes (without a dryer sheet like Bounce). I noticed a big difference with this at home and made sure to do it before bringing the towels and blankets to cub scouts.

- some of the cub scouts also had problems getting a good charge on the balloon or the plastic ring, so I had to help them. I held the towel up with my left hand and vigorously rubbed the top of the balloon against it for about 10 seconds -- much more vigorously than the mere swiping that is shown in the video. For the plastic ring I rubbed it between the folds of the towel or blanket. If it has a good charge, it will cling to your hands or face so you have to fling it up in the air above your head.

- make sure the balloon is blown up fairly large, or at least is wider than the plastic ring.

-stand on a non-conducting surface such as rubber or a carpet -- perhaps some static charge is discharged through the body?

Did not work...

Carmen D. - March 3, 2013

This user gave 2/5 stars

Tried a cotton towel and only for about 2 seconds we saw it happen after several tries. After that we could not replicate it. Even tried a wool jacket with no results. Very disappointing. :-(

Carmen -
Make sure that you're in a low-humidity area or room. If you live in a region with a high humidity, the trick may be more difficult to perform. Good luck, and keep experimenting!
- Steve Spangler Science Web Team

Simple magic!

Linda Hamilton - February 28, 2013

This user gave 5/5 stars

I can't wait to do this one with the kids! Thank you! Love your site and always feel like a kid myself when a receive a new experiment in my inbox!!

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