Fwd: Fw: Inquiry from a seven-year-old

[K. E. Saavik Ford]

I'm a little swamped--anyone willing to help out a friendly kid & mom (see below)?

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Kathleen E. Ford <kef...@bmcc.cuny.edu>
Date: Tue, Jan 13, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Subject: Fw: Inquiry from a seven-year-old
To: K. E. Saavik Ford <saavi...@gmail.com>

---

From: Erin Markman <Erin.M...@proton.me>
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2026 5:09 PM
To: Kathleen E. Ford <kef...@bmcc.cuny.edu>
Subject: Inquiry from a seven-year-old

 

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Dear Dr. Saavik Ford,

I hope this finds you taking care in these challenging times. 

I'm writing because my seven-year-old and I have a science "podcast" (which is just an amateur recording we share with family and friends).  For our next episode, we chose to explore "what is static electricity?"

I recognize that this topic is far below your level of expertise, but if you might be willing to do a short zoom call with us (for audio purposes), we'd be thrilled!  I know this must be an unorthodox request to receive and you must be extremely busy, so fully understand if you don't respond.

I envision this would be about a 15 minute conversation, and we'd record the audio on zoom and then incorporate it in the recording that we send to friends.  (This isn't anything commercial, it is just a fun way for us to connect over our shared love of learning!)

Here's the specific questions that my kiddo Omri has so far:

• What creates static electricity?  Why does it happen?
• What makes the sound and the visible spark from a static shock?
• Why does the dryer make static electricity?
• Are there uses for static electricity? 

Thanks for even considering!

Warmly,

Erin Markman

--

K. E. Saavik Ford, Ph.D.

pronouns: she/her/hers

*My work hours may not be your work hours. I do not expect a reply outside of your work hours.

text: +1 843 503 2024

Research Associate, Dept. of Astrophysics, American Museum of Natural History
Professor, Dept. of Science, CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College

Member of the Doctoral Faculty, Physics Program, CUNY Graduate Center

Visiting Scientist, Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute

https://saavikford.wixsite.com/saavik