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Topics > Physics > Electricity

Hair color and static

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Conclusion

The hypothesis that hair color will not affect the amount of static electricity produced is proven to be correct.

Natural hair is made from keratin which is the same type of protein that is also found on nails and skin. The static charges in our hair are carried by keratin. The proteins that determine the color of hair do not affect the ability of the keratin to carry static. Therefore, the color of hair does not influence the amount of static electricity produced by the hair. However, the physical properties of the hair, such as its thickness, can affect the amount of static charge produced on.

Also consider

The experiment can also be done using a comb instead of a balloon.

Try to repeat the experiment using different types of hair like curly, wavy and straight.

What if the hair is wet? Do you think the amount of static electricity produced will be greater or less?

References

Static electricity - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_electricity

Static electricity - http://science.howstuffworks.com/vdg1.htm

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Complexity level:

Project cost ($):

300

Time required:

1 hour to prepare, 1 hour for the science project experiment

Material availability:

Easily found. You can purchase the wigs from a department store or specialist online stores. Wigs tend to be expensive, so you should try to borrow them from friends or their parents, as far as possible

Safety concerns:

None