Question

When a woman with long hair puts her hands on a Van de Graaff Generator ( a large conducting sphere with a conveyor belt delivering charge to it) her hair stands on end. Which of the following best explains this phenomenon?

• A. Like charges attract
• B. Like charges repel
• C. Her hair will not stand on end
• D. Her body is conducting a current to the ground
• E. The Van de Graff generator makes a magnetic field that draws her hair up on end

Answer 1

The correct option is B Like charges repel

When the woman puts her hands on a Van de Graff generator, the charge of the conveyor belt goes to the hair and as like charges repel each other, thus the hair repels each other and stands on the end.