Re: Kelvin Electrostatic Generator

[William Beaty <billb@eskimo.com>]

On Tue, 28 Jan 1997, Pete Lohstreter wrote:

> Greetings;
>
> I have a student that is trying to get a Kelvin generator to work.  He 
> has followed all of the directions that we could find and still no 
> voltage out.

At first, don't connect the two halves of the device together with
anything (neon bulb, spark gap, etc.)  To detect that it's operating, hold
an NE-2 neon bulb by one lead, then touch one side of the device, then the
other, and the NE-2 should blink dimly each time you touch.

Always assume that wood is a conductor for electrostatic realm (high
voltage, low current).  If your insulators get the least bit damp, their
surfaces might short the cans to the wood.  Try making the plastic
insulators long and narrow like rods.

ALso, the more "drippers" the better.  Instead of glass droppers, I used
small "tupperware" bowls with a circle of small holes drilled in the
bottom, for a total of about eight dripper-sources. 

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William Beaty  voice:206-781-3320   bbs:206-789-0775    cserv:71241,3623
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