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Static Electricity: The Hair-Raiser

A Van de Graaff-style hair-raising demo built from real physics: each strand is a chain of charged, bendable segments and every pair of segments across strands repels with genuine Coulomb force F=kQ1Q2/r^2, so the hair visibly flares as total charge rises.

Physics & Mechanics3DEasy60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 2D version

Details

CategoryPhysics & Mechanics

RenderingThree.js · WebGL

DifficultyEasy

Target FPS60

ControlsSliders for total charge, number of strands, hair stiffness, strand length, and air damping; a discharge/ground button; click the metal dome to zap in more charge; drag a grounded probe near the hair tips to bleed the charge away.

static-electricitycoulomb-forceelectrostaticsphysicshalloween

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A classic Van de Graaff generator demo, rebuilt as real physics: strands of hair are chains of charged, bendable segments, and every pair of segments on different strands repels according to Coulomb's law, F = kQ1Q2/r². Turn up the total charge and watch the hair genuinely flare outward as electrostatic repulsion overcomes gravity and bending stiffness; ground it and watch it fall.

⚙ Under the hood

Real Coulomb repulsion (F=kQ1Q2/r^2) between charged, bendable hair strands anchored on a Van de Graaff-style dome, so the strands visibly flare outward as total charge rises and relax when grounded.

static-electricitycoulomb-forceelectrostaticsphysicshalloween

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install