Re: How do I make my homemade electroscope work?

Although this experiment is simple, there are
several things that need to be noted:

1. The cork, jar, wire, foil and also the air
should be very dry.

2. There should be good electric contact between
the foil ball, the wire and the foil strip.

3. The foil ball should be as smooth as possible,
and the bigger the size, the better.

4. Since the static electric force between the
two leaves of the foil strip is very small, it
is better to use two foil strips instead of one,
as shown in the figure.



[note added by MadSci Admin:  It is also important
for the wire that leads to the foil ball to be
making good electrical contact with the outside
surface of the foil ball.  This is because the
charges on the ball spread themselves out over
the outside surface of the ball.]