• Ping-pong balls suspended on strings attached to support rods
• Fur and silk pads
• Rubber rod and glass rod

Two ping-pong balls, hanging on separate strings, are each rubbed with the same piece of fur and are shown to repel and move apart. Next a hanging ping-pong ball is rubbed with a piece of fur and is shown to be repelled by a rubber rod which has been rubbed with the same piece of fur. Then a glass rod, rubbed with silk, is shown to attract the same ping-pong ball. Finally the fur is shown to attract the same ping-pong ball.

• Rubber rod and glass rod
• Fur and silk pads
• Electroscope

A rubber rod is rubbed with fur and brought near the top plate of an electroscope. It is shown that when the rubber rod is not touching the electroscope, the needle is repelled, but is relaxed as the rod is moved away. When the rod is brought up and touches the electroscope and is then removed, the needle remains deflected. The needle deflects even more when the rubber rod is again brought near the electroscope. Then when a glass rod which was rubbed with silk, is brought near the electroscope the needle relaxes and becomes less deflected.

• Fur pad
• Rubber rod
• Small pieces of paper
• Small pieces of light weight materials like puffed wheat and packing peanuts
• Small styrofoam board

It is demonstrated that a charged rubber rod attracts small neutral objects. It is also shown that a small packing peanut when charged will cling to the demonstrator's neutral hand and a charged styrofoam board will cling to a neutral chalkboard.

• Van de Graaff generator
• Electroscope
• Conductive sphere with hole
• Conductive probe attached to insulated rod

A small neutral metal sphere, with a hole in the top, is given a negative charge by contact with a Van de Graaff generator. It is demonstrated with the help of a small metal probe and an electroscope, that the charge on the metal sphere resides on its outer surface with no charge on the inner surface.

• Van de Graaff generator
• Insulated stand
• Fluoresent tube

A person standing on an insulated platform is charged by placing her hand on the dome of a Van de Graaff generator. Her body is shown to become charged by observing some of her hair to stand up. Also a fluorescent tube brought near her body is shown to light up.

• Van de Graaff generator
• Ping-pong ball suspended on string

The electric field produced by a charged Van de Graaff generator is demonstrated by observing the deflection of a negatively charged ping-pong ball suspended on a string and brought into the field of the generator.

• Van de Graaff generator
• Ping-pong ball suspended on string
• Fur pad
• Fur ball suspended on string
• Rubber rod
• Piece of string
• Sharp pointed metal object
• Sharp pointed metal spinner

The effect of an electric field on negative, positive, and neutral objects is demonstrated. In a different experiment, it is shown that the electric field of a charged object is stronger near its sharp points.

• Van de Graaff generator
• Large metal sphere on insulated stand
• Connecting wire
• Conducting rod
• Insulating rod

The large conducting sphere is electrically connected to the base of a Van de Graaff generator. The spherical dome of the generator is then negatively charged as the second sphere is positively charged. Electric field breakdown is then demonstrated by bringing the two spheres closer together.With the spheres far apart, breakdown is achieved by placing a conducting rod in the space between the spheres, while an insulating rod, similarly placed, does not cause breakdown.

• Van de Graaff generator
• Two-leaf electroscope
• Rubber rod
• Fur pad
• Faraday cage

A two-leaf electroscope is placed in the electric field of a Van de Graaff generator. When there is no shielding, the leaves respond to the field by separating. When the electroscope is shielded by placing a metal wire cage over it, the leaves do not respond to the electric field.