Static Electricity

Bees in the D Junior Presents:

Buzz Worthy Activities Static Electricity

What is Static Electricity?

• Static electricity is the build up of an electric charge on an object.

• The word static means “not moving” so static electricity, unlike other electricity does not move through wires.

• If a large enough charge builds up it can “jump” from one object to another.

• When static electricity “jumps” it is called an electric discharge.

Click here to find out why you c an at times get “shocked” by sta tic electricity.

Click here for an introduction to static electricity.

Click here to watch a video that explain s a more advanced look at static electr icity.

How Do Bees Use Static Electricity?

Introduction to bees and static electricity.

Flowers use scent, patterns, nectar and even ultraviolet colors to attract bees. Bees sense a flower’s electric field with their body hairs. Bees and flowers are oppositely charged.

Without even trying, bees build up a positive charge on their bodies as they fly. Bees pick up electrons from the air and become positively charged with more than 100-volts by beating their wings 200 plus times per second.

Since opposite charges attract that helps the hairs on the bee to “stand on end” and pull pollen from the flowers

In the diagram above, imagine that the bee is red and the flower blue. As the bee approaches the flower, excitement passes along its body as its hairs bend in response to the flower’s electric field. The bee feels the approach. Its hairs are pointing to the flower!

Bees “Communicate” With Flowers When a bee visits a flower, they drink the nectar and pick-up pollen. During this process they also create a positive charge to that flower. Other bees approaching that flower sense the positive charge and avoid the bloom. The bee continues to forage looking for flowers that have not been visited and still contain a negative charge. When they sense that negative charge, they know the flower is rich in Click here to see how flowers and bees both pollen and nectar and worth “communicate” with each other. the visit.

Story Time Click the book or link below to enjoy a story.

Click here to en joy a story

Static Electricity Fun! Click HERE to see fun options on static electric that you can try at home!

For a step-by-step video on the Simple Static activity pictured above click HERE