I’ve been thinking about making as much as I can from recycled (or found) items and have started a DIY category for this blog.

This particular project is an electroscope. Electroscopes are one of the earliest types of instruments used to detect the presence of electrical charges. In the realm of physics, they are another way to render the invisible visible. They are old world, old school, and they do not require batteries. This is not the first electroscope I have constructed.

After I first read about electroscopes I needed to test what I had discovered.  Back then I would conduct experiments using my little brothers as test subjects. To demonstrate the presence of electrical charges I would shuffle my slippered feet on the wool carpeting and touch whoever was closest with an antennae from a transistor radio. Sometimes I would have to chase them to finish my tests. Since they were little, they couldn’t run very fast; they could never escape. But they did yell.  All in the name of science.

An evolved appreciation of humanity (and understanding of the legal system) has modified my research methods to that of a more classical approach.

This electroscope was made from a vinegar bottle, rubber stopper, copper wire, and some Aluminum foil. I charged and tested the instrument with a pvc pipe which  which was first rubbed with a cotton dish towel.

The big surprise came during my demonstration to my wife.  Allyson noticed that the  mobile was also moving in response to the proximity of the charge.  I thought that was pretty neat.  You can see this action in the second video.

[quicktime]http://www.terezakis.org/itp/video/electroscope-11-9920.mov[/quicktime]
[quicktime]http://www.terezakis.org/itp/video/electroscopes-2-9920.mov[/quicktime]