Summer Science Series: Magic Spoon

School’s out for the summer in our area and you may be looking for ways to entertain those kiddos. Never fear, we’ve got a couple of shocking science experiments up our sleeves that will help you out. This one is called the Magic Spoon. You’re going to be able to separate salt from pepper using static electricity. How cool is that?! Let’s get started. 

This science experiment is very easy. You most likely have all the supplies on hand in your kitchen. Here’s what you need: 

1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon pepper
Plastic spoon
Dish cloth

Step 1. Carefully sprinkle a small pile of salt and pepper on a black piece of paper so you can clearly see it. 

Step 2. Rub the plastic spoon rapidly on the dish cloth for 10 - 15 seconds to build the static electricity. 

Step 3. Hold the rounded end of the spoon up to your salt and pepper mixture and watch them separate! 

You can experiment with your magic spoon by rubbing it in different directions against the dishcloth or by holding it at different levels and angles over your salt and pepper mixture. 

What’s that got to do with electricity? Rubbing the spoon gives it a negative charge, also called static electricity. When the spoon gains enough static electricity, and it’s brought near the mix of salt and pepper, the negative charge polarizes the salt and pepper. That is, it moves the electrons of the salt and pepper to one side, leaving one end positive and one end negative. The positive end is then attracted to the negatively charged spoon and the particles will ‘leap’ up. .

Do you know why they separate? The pepper is lighter than the salt so those particles ‘jump’ to the spoon first. You may notice that some of your salt particles will join them!

Is the spoon magic? Try repeating these steps with a comb instead of a spoon. Then try it with a balloon in place of the spoon. What’d you find out?

Stay tuned all summer long for more fun and exciting science experiments using electricity.