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How can a balloon pick things up without touching them?

Rubbing a balloon on your hair gives it a tiny electric charge called static. That charge pulls on light things like paper bits and dust. Some air filters use a pull like this to help catch dust.

Manny, your Wing Force guide
Manny says“It looks like magic. It’s really science!”

⏱ About 10 minutes. 💧 No mess. Grown-up helps: blowing up and tying the balloon.


2 pages: the experiment, then a page to write your results.

What you need

  • A balloon, blown up and tied by a grown-up
  • Your hair, or a wool sock or sweater
  • Tiny bits of tissue paper or paper confetti (tear them about the size of your fingernail)
  • A pinch of ground pepper on a plate
  • A thin stream of water from the kitchen tap

Steps

  1. Spread the paper bits on a table.
  2. Hold the balloon just above the paper. Does anything happen? (Probably not yet.)
  3. Rub the balloon fast on your hair or a wool sock for about 10 seconds.
  4. Slowly bring the balloon close to the paper bits, but do not touch them. Watch!
  5. Rub the balloon again and hold it just above the pepper on the plate.
  6. Ask a grown-up to turn on the kitchen tap so a very thin stream of water comes out. Rub the balloon again and bring it close to the stream, without touching the water.
  7. Rub the balloon and gently press it against a wall. Let go. Does it stay?

What you will see

After rubbing, the paper bits jump up and stick to the balloon. Pepper hops up too. The thin stream of water bends toward the balloon. The balloon may even stick to the wall by itself. Your hair may stand up and reach for the balloon!

Not working? Static works best on dry days. On a muggy day the charge leaks away into the damp air. That is a result too, so write it down.

Why it works

Everything is made of super tiny parts. Some of those parts, called electrons (ee-LEK-trons), can move from one thing to another when you rub them together. When you rub the balloon on your hair, electrons move onto the balloon. Now the balloon has extra electrons. That is called a static charge (STAT-ik charj).

A charged balloon pulls on light things nearby, like paper bits, pepper, water and hair. The pull is strong enough to lift them, even without touching. This is static electricity. It is the same thing that makes a tiny zap when you touch a doorknob after walking on carpet.

How your house uses this

Dust is made of tiny, light bits, just like your paper bits. Static can grab dust too. That is why dust clings to a TV screen and why a dusting cloth that has been rubbed can pick up more dust.

Your heating and cooling system has an air filter. Air from your house goes through the filter before it reaches the machine. The filter catches dust so the machine’s parts stay clean. Many filters are made of fibers that carry a little static charge, which helps them grab very tiny dust bits as the air flows by. Big bits get caught in the fibers, and tiny bits get pulled onto them, a little like your paper bits jumping to the balloon.

Grown-ups change the filter. Kids can help by keeping furniture, toys and laundry away from the big return grille, where the AC breathes in.

See a filter in action in Dust Detective.

Popped balloon pieces can make you choke, so a grown-up picks them all up.

Try this next

  • Rub test. Try rubbing the balloon on hair, a wool sock, a cotton shirt and a plastic bag. Which one makes the strongest pull? Count how many paper bits it lifts.
  • Wall timer. Stick a rubbed balloon to the wall. How long does it stay? Try on a dry day and a muggy day.
  • Salt and pepper. Mix a pinch of salt and pepper on a plate. Which jumps to the balloon first? (Pepper is lighter.)
  • Dust hunt. Look for dust on a TV screen or a computer screen. Why do you think dust likes screens?

Share what you found

Show your grown-up the bending water. Ask them to guess what will happen before you bring the balloon close.


2 pages: the experiment, then a page to write your results.

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