5th/6th grade science teacher Tom Piekart explains the Van der Graaf generator. Paula Kane
Dorothy Kane has a hair raising experience with the Van der Graaf generator. Photo by Paula Kane
Natalie Buck and science teacher Tom Piekart demonstrate the effects of the Van der Graaf generator. Photo by Paula Kane
STRONG — Students in Tom Piekart’s 6th grade science class at Day Mountain Regional Middle School in Strong were recently electrified, quite literally. The teacher himself was even a bit shocked by the day’s experiment. In fact, the hair on the volunteers’ heads actually stood on end! And a few (harmless) sparks flew when the built up electricity was transferred to Mr. Piekart when the student touched his arm!
This class is currently studying weather, more specifically, at the time of this particular lesson, comparing and contrasting tornados and hurricanes. Since tornadoes usually form during thunderstorms, a brief detour to the subject of lightning was in order. Even more specifically, the class did some experimenting with static electricity.
One of the many curious objects on the shelves in Mr. Piekart’s science classroom is a Van der Graaf generator. Merriam-Webster defines this gadget as “an apparatus for the production of electrical discharges at high voltage…”
According to “Science World” (https://www.scienceworld.ca/resource/van-de-graaff-generator-wonders/), “When a student puts a hand on the sphere, the electrons will spread out onto that person as they repel from the other electrons. They are most obvious in a person’s hair because the like charges of the electrons repel each other and cause the hairs to stand up and spread away from each other. As long as the person is standing on an insulated platform, the electrons will not be able to travel down to the ground and their hair will remain standing up.”
That is exactly the experiment in which student volunteers participated.
Volunteers took turns stepping into the experimental space, where they were safely grounded, to experience the hair-raising results. After “collecting” energy for a short time, Mr. Piekart, who was not “insulated”, invited the “electrified” student to touch his arm. The transfer of electricity caused a bit of a crackle, but the charge was not strong enough to do any harm. Both students and teacher were completely safe throughout the entire demonstration.
The demonstration certainly made an impression on the young scientists, as it must have also done many years ago on Mr. Piekart. When he was a student at Mt. Abram Regional High School, his physics teacher, Wayne Knapp, had presented the same experiment in one of his classes.
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