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Re: mist maker / electrostatic motor



Isn't it rather more likely that the air molecules near the sharp points are
being ionized by the strong electric field there. When an electron jumped
off (or onto) the point, the nearest molecule would likely grab it, become
charged in the same sign as the electrode, and be repelled. The reaction to
this would push the whirleygig away, no?
Skip

-----Original Message-----
From: Wolfgang Rueckner [SMTP:rueckner@FAS.HARVARD.EDU]
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2000 7:33 AM
To: PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu
Subject: Re: mist maker / electrostatic motor

I think heating of the air drives the whirligig. I've never given
the "conventional" explanation.

Leigh

Heating! That's news to me. The current (from the whirlygig into the
air)
is typically 1/10 microamp. I have always associated heating of the air
with more substantial currents. Has anyone any more detailed info on this
heating process? It must be complicated since the whirlygig spins around
(as opposed to statically heating the air in a fixed spot). Wolfgang