This week in Physics, Lower V have been studying static electricity as part of their overall electricity topic. One of the most exciting aspects of this is getting to grips with the iconic Van de Graaff generator which can build up large amounts of electric charge, using a rubber belt and a large metal dome, and make your hair stand on end! We also got to see some exciting demonstrations which included foil cake cases repelling one another and flying off the generator.

Each of the Lower V students were able to volunteer to have a go with this piece of equipment and notably after some initial hesitancy, the more students that tried it, the more that wanted to have a go! Overall, it was a fun and hands-on lesson, which demonstrated some key principles of static electricity.

Dr Gilroy-Hirst