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Investigation E4 · Electricity

Why does a comb pick up paper that nobody rubbed?

E1 said a leftover of zero does not mean nothing is there. This asks what that has to do with a comb and some bits of paper.

You will need

a combtorn paperand a second one
  • A dry plastic comb, or a balloon from E1.
  • Small bits of torn paper. Torn, not rubbed.
  • A second comb or balloon if you can manage one. It has to carry the other kind of charge.

On a damp day nothing happens. That is the air, not a new law. Try a drier room.

This one works best after E1 · What is charge?, which is where the ideas it leans on come from. You can carry on without it.

Your predictions lock once you commit them.