Van De Graaff

Today we learned about static electricity and we experimented with a Van De Graaff generator. The generator created a visible spark between the generator and a metal ball that was around the generator. The generator had many positive charges where as the smaller metal ball held around the generator had many negative charges. I believe it would be interesting to see how the size of the metal could affect the spark created. For example I want to see the affect on the spark if a paper clip is used instead of the smaller metal ball.