If you rub a piece of PVC pipe with some wool and touch the PVC to Aluminum foil. Will the PVC be charged after rubbing it with wool?? Will the aluminum be charged? Finally can the PVC cause the aluminum to move. Please explain (hint: can the PVC give charge to the aluminum?)

i know the pvc will be charged through friction. i know the aluminum will be charged because it is transferred from the pvc. but i am not sure if the pvc can cause the aluminum to move.

I have never been able to do it.

To understand if the PVC pipe can cause the aluminum foil to move, we need to consider the concept of charging through friction.

When you rub a piece of PVC pipe with wool, it creates a process called triboelectric charging. This occurs due to the transfer of electrons between different materials. In this case, some electrons are transferred from the wool to the PVC pipe, causing the PVC to become negatively charged.

When you then touch the negatively charged PVC to the aluminum foil, electrons can be transferred from the aluminum foil to the PVC due to their opposite charges. This process is known as conduction.

So, to answer your first question, yes, the PVC pipe will be charged after rubbing it with wool.

As for the aluminum foil, it will also become charged, but with a positive charge. This is because it has lost electrons to the negatively charged PVC pipe.

Now, regarding whether the PVC can cause the aluminum foil to move, it is important to note that just the act of charging does not directly cause movement. Instead, it is the attraction or repulsion between charged objects that can cause motion.

In this case, since the PVC pipe is negatively charged and the aluminum foil is positively charged, they will attract each other due to their opposite charges. Although the force of attraction may not be strong enough to visibly move the aluminum foil, you might observe some slight movement or attraction between the two.

To summarize, rubbing the PVC pipe with wool causes it to become negatively charged. When the negatively charged PVC pipe is touched to the aluminum foil, the aluminum foil becomes positively charged, and there will be an attraction between the two. While this attraction may not result in significant movement, there can be some interaction between the PVC pipe and the aluminum foil due to their opposite charges.

When you rub a piece of PVC pipe with wool, the friction between the two materials causes a transfer of electrons. The PVC gains electrons, giving it a negative charge, while the wool loses electrons, leaving it positively charged. This is known as the triboelectric effect.

In this scenario, the PVC pipe will be charged after rubbing it with wool. It will acquire a negative charge due to gaining electrons.

The aluminum foil, on the other hand, will also become charged but with the opposite charge. It will acquire a positive charge since it loses electrons to the PVC pipe during the rubbing process.

Now, can the PVC cause the aluminum to move? No, the charged PVC pipe cannot directly cause the aluminum foil to move. The reason is that both objects have the same charge (positive charge on the aluminum and negative charge on the PVC), and like charges repel each other. Therefore, the PVC and aluminum will repel each other due to their like charges.

However, it is worth noting that if there is a small object or lightweight material in proximity to the charged PVC and aluminum foil, the electrostatic force might cause the lightweight material to move or be attracted to the opposite-charged object.

In summary, after rubbing a PVC pipe with wool, the PVC will be charged negatively, and the aluminum foil will be charged positively. While the PVC cannot directly cause the aluminum foil to move due to their like charges, it may affect the movement of lightweight nearby materials through the electrostatic force.