Ions in action

Ions are here.  Electrons are here

Make pieces of paper - confetti - fly through the air and stick to a balloon. 

What you need:

• A balloon

• A sheet of paper

• A hole punch

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1  What to do:

1. Inflate the balloon to a size that fits easily in your hand.

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3. Tie a knot in the end of the balloon.

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5. Use the hole punch to cut twenty or so small circles from the sheet of paper.

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7. Rub the balloon back and forth gently on your hair about 10 times. Don't press too hard. Your hair should be clean, dry, and oil-free.

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9. Hold the balloon close to, but not touching, the paper circles. Watch what happens.

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11. 

    Don't forget to take  your hat off before you rub the balloon on your hair.

2   Why does the balloon pick up the confetti?  

1. Static electricity as seen here.
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4. Atoms are the teeny tiny particles that make up all matter. Atoms have even teenier pieces, called electrons, that they wear like coats. 
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6. Sometimes the atom wears all its coats, sometimes it takes off one or more.
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9. When you rub the balloon on your hair, some of the electrons rub off and stick to the balloon. 
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11. The electrons have a negative ( – ) electric charge, so the balloon has a negative charge. 
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13. When atoms are missing electrons (they've taken off a coat or two), we say they have a positive ( + ) charge. 
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15. The confetti you made has a few electrons missing, so has a slight positive charge. 
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17. Negative and positive charges attract each other. So, the confetti sticks to the balloon!
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19. That's quite enough!  More complicated from now on via source.  There's a lot on Deep Space 1 next to the Ions text. 
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21. It's up to you if you read it.

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