• Electrometerbuild-it project
• MORE LEDS: making electric current visible
• Richard Hull's op-amp electrometer
• Electrostatics Projects
• E_static Shadows woven fabric version
• Media lab: e-field imaging
• BOOKS: Electrostatics

I built this device in 1989 as part of the Electricity/Electronics exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. Each small light is controlled by an e-field sensor, and will respond to any "static electricity" in the area. When a negatively-charged object approaches the glowing red panel, the lights nearest the object will turn off. If you scuff your shoes on the rug and then wave your hand around the panel, a big black blotch will follow your hand. This "blotch" is a crude image of the electrical field surrounding your body. Touch a grounded object, and your hand no longer will affect the panel. Rub a balloon on your head in order to charge it, and the balloon will affect the panel from several feet away.