WHAT YOU NEED

• Aluminium pie tin
• Wool fabric (like a wool sock)
• Styrofoam block or plate
• Pencil with eraser tip
• Thumbtack

WHAT TO DO

1. Find the centre of the round pie tin
2. Push the thumbtack up through the bottom of the pie tin in the centre spot
3. Push the eraser end of the pencil onto the sharp end of the thumbtack.
4. Now, put the Styrofoam block on a table.
5. Rub the block with the wool sock moving quickly, for a few minutes.
6. Using the pencil as a handle, pick up the aluminium pie tin, and place it on top of the Styrofoam block.
7. Ready? Touch the aluminium pie tin with your finger, and you will feel a shock! Didn’t feel it? Try rubbing the Styrofoam block again.
8. Once you feel the shock, turn the lights off before you touch the pan again.
9. In the dark, you will be able to see a spark between your finger and the pan – like a tiny bolt of lightning!

WHAT IS HAPPENING

This experiment helps you to see a small amount of static electricity. Lightning happens when the negative charges (called ‘electrons’) in the bottom of a cloud are attracted to the positive charges (called ‘protons’) in the ground. In this experiment, your finger is like the cloud, and the tin is like the ground!