Energy Ball

1.Can you make the energy ball work? What do you think makes the ball flash & hum?

Yes, the energy ball would flash and hum whenever I place a finger on each of the two iron contacts on the surface of the ball. This is because by placing my fingers on the iron contacts, I’m actually closing and connecting the circuit to allow energy to transfer. That is, the current flow is actually being transferred through my own body.

2. Why do you have to touch both metal contacts to make the ball work?

It is necessary to touch both metal contacts because they’re like the terminals of the circuit. Current electricity could not flow continuously without two terminals.

3. Will the ball light up if you connect the contacts with any material?

No, because in order to allow electricity to flow, we must have conductors that can transfer the current in the circuit. Therefore, any non electricity conductive materials will not make the ball light up.

4. Which materials will make the energy ball work? Test your hypothesis

In theory, any material that is a conductor of electricity will make the energy ball work, such as lead and steel (metals); and water. In our group, we first tested the hypothesis with materials such as pencil lead and the cable (of course and ourselves), and the ball worked fine. But when we tried materials such as plastic pencil and cloths, the ball did not hum and flash. This proves that our hypothesis was correct: Only materials that are conductors of electricity can make the ball work.

5. This ball does not work on certain individual.  What could cause this to happen?

To say that the ball would not work on certain individual is nearly impossible; it’s like saying that the individual does not contain any water in his/her body. The only possible cause to this occurrence is when the passage of current flow is obstructed, such as covering your fingers with cloth or wearing a rubber glove.

6. Can you make the energy ball work with all 5-6 individuals in your group? Will it work with the entire class?

If we as a group form a circle (series circuit), the ball would work even when the circuit is bigger. Following this theory, it will work with the entire class also because the amount of people would only increase the size of the circuit, but not how it functions.

7. What kind of a circuit can you form with one energy ball?

With one energy ball, I can form a series circuit because in order to form a parallel circuit, we must have at least two balls parallel to each other.

8. Given two balls: Can you create a circuit where both balls light up?

Yes and as a matter of fact, we can create either a parallel or series circuit with two balls. The idea of it is still the same (which is to create a closed circuit with everybody holding hands), except with more people and an addition ball, we can form bigger and more complex circuit.

9. What do you think will happen if one person lets go of the other person’s hand and why?

The energy ball would stop working if one person lets go because it would disconnect the circuit and form an opened circuit. In a series circuit, both balls would stop working because the circuit is connected in a single path. Thus, when one person ruins the completeness of the circuit, the flow of electricity would completely stop. However, in a parallel circuit, it would matter because the energy balls are side by side independently. Thus, disconnecting one link would only stop from working while the other one would still be flashing.

10. Does it matter who let’s go? Try it.

As mentioned in question 9, it would matter for a parallel circuit because the circuit has two or more paths.  Thus, one disconnection would only stop the current flow in one of the two paths. In addition, where the disconnection occurs will also determine which path would be disconnected, therefore which energy ball that would stop working. For example, if we treat the parallel circuit as two quadrilaterals, if the disconnection occurs in the top quadrilateral path, then the energy ball connected in the top square would stop working. Vice versa, the same phenomenon would occur for the bottom quadrilateral.

11. Can you create a circuit where only one ball lights (both balls must be included in the circuit)?

Yes it’s possible because we can use a parallel series with a switch. By turning off the switch of one of the path way, it would stop the current flow of one energy ball, while its parallel circuit would still be working.

12. What is the minimum number of people required to complete this?

The minimum number of people required to complete this is 3 people.