012-04393C

Instruction Sheet
for the PASCO
Model ES-9042A
Faraday Ice Pail
Complete instructions for the operation of PASCO Elec-
Introduction trostatic equipment can be found in the ES-9051 Acces-
sory and Demonstration Manual (included with the
The Ice Pail designed by Faraday is an excellent product Demonstration System) and the ES-9055 Laboratory
for sampling a charge distribution. It operates on the Manual (included with the Electrostatic Laboratory Sys-
principle that a charge placed inside a conducting sur- tem)
face will induce an equal charge on the outside of that
surface. For example, if a charged ball were hung inside
a coffee can, the charge on the outside of the can would Charge Producer
Electrometer
equal the charge of the ball. The charge can be measured Red Clip
with an electrometer such as the PASCO Model ES-9078
Basic Electrometer. +
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The PASCO Model +

ES-9042A Faraday Ice Pail -

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Faraday Ice Pail
mounted on three insulating
rods along the outer edge of Figure 1
a wire mesh shield.
Demonstration: Faraday Ice Pail and Charge
The wire mesh shield not Production
only ensures complete vis-
ibility of the experiment but Since the Faraday Ice Pail is used so frequently in elec-
also helps eliminate the trostatic demonstrations, one should examine the rela-
problem of stray charges and AC fields. tionship between the charge induced on the ice pail by
an inserted object and the actual charge on that object.
To prevent stray charges from producing erroneous re- Using the ice pail, one can then investigate the nature of
sults it is extremely important that the person performing charging an object by contact as opposed to charging by in-
the experiment be continually grounded while perform- duction.
ing the experiment. The Ice-Pail needs to be temporarily
grounded prior to starting the experiment. Equipment needed: Faraday Ice Pail, charge producing ob-
jects (such as ES-9057A Charge Producers), electrometer
A charged object such as the PASCO Model ES-9057A
Charge Producers and Proof Plane is placed in the Setup
grounded ice pail (without touching it), and the elec- ➀ Connect the electrometer input lead (red alligator
trometer indicates the potential between the ice pail and clip) to the ice pail to create a system for measuring
ground. The greater the charge the greater the potential. charge. The electrometer ground lead (black alligator
Thus we can easily measure relative charges by varying clip) attaches to the shield. (Setup is shown in Figure
the charges in the ice pail and observing the potential 1.) Adjust the sensitivity of the electrometer so that
indicated by the electrometer. most readings appear in the upper 2/3 of the scale.
Faraday Ice Pail 012-04393C

➁ Ground the ice pail (i.e., connect the inner pail to the ➤ NOTE:
shield) by touching the inner pail and the outer shield ➀ The charged object must be inserted at least into the
at the same time with the finger of one hand. (See
lower half of the ice pail. Try inserting it, for ex-
Figure 2) While conducting the experiment it may be
ample, approximately one centimeter below the top
convenient to continually rest one hand on the upper
of the pail and attempt to explain your results.
edge of the shield. This also grounds the experi-
menter, providing the electrometer is connected to ➁ There may be a small charge retained on the exposed
both ground and shield and it allows the ice pail to be plastic between the aluminum disk and the aluminum
easily grounded whenever necessary. rod on the charge producers. This residual charge
does not transfer readily when the disk is touched to
Closed Open the pail. Therefore, (before starting the experiment)
breathe on the exposed plastic of the charge producer
so that the moisture in your breath will tend to re-
move any residual charge.
Procedure B
① Starting with initially uncharged charge producers,
rub the blue and white materials together. Using the
Faraday Ice Pail, measure the magnitude and polarity
of their charges. By using the results from Procedure
A it is not necessary to touch the charge producer to
Figure 2 the pail. What relationship exists between these
charges produced by contact?
➁ Ground the charge producers and rub them together
➤NOTE: When removing your finger from the
inside the ice pail. What is the reading on the elec-
inner pail after grounding it, make certain that you
trometer. Remove one charge producer and note the
are still touching the outer shield. DO NOT re-
electrometer reading. Replace this charge producer
move your hand from the shield before releasing
but remove the other and note the electrometer read-
the inner pail, as this sequence will not effectively
ing.
ground the inner pail.
➂ Ground the charge producers again. Rub the white
➂ Make sure the electrometer reads “zero”, indicating material against the aluminum proof plane. Measure
that there is no charge on the ice pail. the magnitude and polarity of the charges. Now rub
the blue material against the aluminum surface and
Procedure A record your measurements.
➀ Rub two charge producers together to create a charge ➃ Construct a list of materials such that if a material
on them. lower on the list is rubbed against a material higher
➁ Insert one of the wands into the ice pail but do not let on the list, the charge on the higher listed material is
it touch the pail. Note the electrometer reading. always positive. Such a list is called an electrostatic se-
ries.
➂ Remove the object from the pail and again note the
electrometer reading. To Reach PASCO
➃ Insert the wand again, allow it to touch the ice pail For Technical Support call us at 1-800-772-8700 (toll-
and then remove it. Note the electrometer reading. free within the U.S.) or (916) 786-3800.

➄ Momentarily ground the ice pail and then touch the email: [email protected]
object to the pail again. Note the electrometer read- Tech support fax: (916) 786-3292
ing. Does any charge remain on the object?
What is the conclusion about the induced charge on the
ice pail, as compared to the charge on the charge pro-
ducer?
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