Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Tiny balls form chains that behave like living worms in Petri dish with high voltage.
High-voltage electric field polarizes steel balls which form chains, or shooters. This phenomenon is analogous to the familiar buckyballs magnets which are magnetically polarized and will form a chain if positioned in close proximity to each other.
The apparatus consists of a high-voltage power supply, Petri dish with tiny steel balls in a substrate of castor oil, a dielectric which introduces drag. Above the dish is a pointed copper-wire electrode connected to the positive terminal of the power supply. Aluminum foil coats the inner perimeter wall of the dish and is connected to electrical ground.
Corona discharge, accompanied by hissing sound, occurs in air near the copper-wire electrode where neutral atoms and molecules become positively charged ions, or cations. An electric field is formed between the positive electrode and negatively charged steel balls near the perimeter of the dish. The balls are attracted to the center of the dish as they form chains which reorganize themselves, following the path of least resistance. Oh yes, there is also the sweet smell of Ozone in the air.
Watch additional; high-voltage experiments:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviGIiu7aCEnK9CtC6zYSvFN_
The experiment with Petri dish is based on a research project at the Physics Department, University of Illinois.
Music: Richard Wagner, Lohengrin – Prelude, Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Woldemar Nelsson
#HighVoltageExperiment #energytransfer #chargedparticles #ElectrostaticExperiment #HighVoltagePhysics
Tiny balls form chains that behave like living worms in Petri dish with high voltage.
High-voltage electric field polarizes steel balls which form chains, or shooters. This phenomenon is analogous to the familiar buckyballs magnets which are magnetically polarized and will form a chain if positioned in close proximity to each other.
The apparatus consists of a high-voltage power supply, Petri dish with tiny steel balls in a substrate of castor oil, a dielectric which introduces drag. Above the dish is a pointed copper-wire electrode connected to the positive terminal of the power supply. Aluminum foil coats the inner perimeter wall of the dish and is connected to electrical ground.
Corona discharge, accompanied by hissing sound, occurs in air near the copper-wire electrode where neutral atoms and molecules become positively charged ions, or cations. An electric field is formed between the positive electrode and negatively charged steel balls near the perimeter of the dish. The balls are attracted to the center of the dish as they form chains which reorganize themselves, following the path of least resistance. Oh yes, there is also the sweet smell of Ozone in the air.
Watch additional; high-voltage experiments:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviGIiu7aCEnK9CtC6zYSvFN_
The experiment with Petri dish is based on a research project at the Physics Department, University of Illinois.
Music: Richard Wagner, Lohengrin – Prelude, Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Woldemar Nelsson
#HighVoltageExperiment #energytransfer #chargedparticles #ElectrostaticExperiment #HighVoltagePhysics
