I'm making an electrical shock for my science project. Help me please....and i need to know how to make a sensor
2007-01-09 10:22:47 · 6 answers · asked by forever143kandi08 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
You can make a very cheap and sensitive sensor to detect a charge by using a field effect transistor (FET) and a light emitting diode LED. Radio Shack may carry the parts , if not try mail order via DigiKey....
You generate static by rubbing different materials together, part of your experiment can determine which material combinations produce the most charge.
The voltage of a single battery may be stepped up using a transformer. The DC surging into the primary coil of a transformer will cause a higher voltage to appear on the secondary. This is only a brief pulse caused by transformer action as the DC creates a magnetic field in the transformer. A second pulse is created when the battery is disconnected and the magnetic field collapses. Since you are using a DC battery you only have transformer action occur when the magnetic field is changing.
2007-01-09 16:40:12 · answer #1 · answered by MarkG 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The easiest sensor can be made with two thin blades of aluminum foil inside a glass jar, attached to a metal rod passing through the cork. Some vacuum inside the jar would help, also to eliminate humidity.
Any DC electric charge touching the metal rod will make the two blades diverge because charged with equal polarity they repel each other.
Normally such instrument is made with golden panes, because gold can be much thinner, but aluminum should also work, if not too thick.
About the electricity, the best would be to buy or to build (not easy) an electrostatic DC generator. The charge produced by rubbing a fabric with a plastic or glass rod may not be sufficient for the instrument described above to work.
2007-01-09 20:30:36 · answer #2 · answered by PragmaticAlien 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Three ideas come to mind for making sparks...
1. This site has some great info for making sparks: http://www.spartechsoftware.com/reeko/Experiments/ExpMakingSparks.htm
2. You can just go to the hardware store and buy a gas grill sparker for about $15.
3. You could build a Van de Graaff generator (good science fair material for middle and high school students). You can find some VdG generator info here: http://amasci.com/emotor/vdgdesc.html
2007-01-09 19:30:58 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Spark plug from a car?
Turbo lighter's use an electric spark I believe.
2007-01-09 18:29:38 · answer #4 · answered by Om 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Drag your feet across a wool rug and then touch your least fav sibling on the tip of their nose. His/her nerves will sense it well enough!
2007-01-09 18:29:13 · answer #5 · answered by Ellie S 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pet a cat with a wool scarf.
2007-01-09 19:01:26 · answer #6 · answered by puzzled 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋