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[Phys-L] Re: Kelvin Water drop experiment



At 03:20 PM 12/2/2005, Dwight Souder, you wrote:
Greetings everyone. ///
She is trying to perform the Kelvin water drop experiment. She made a nice
wooden platform/structure to support everything. At the top is a 1 gallon
milk container with 2 small plastic tubes coming out of the bottom of the
milk container. Underneath the milk container are 2 small metal cans (about
1.5" diameter), with both the top and bottoms cutout. Underneath the 2
small cans are 2 large metal cans that catch the water. She is using 2
gator clip wires to connect the upper right small can with the lower left
large can (and vice versa). All of the cans have been sanded down to remove
any plastic or corrosive coverings and try to make the best contact with the
gator clips. We have tried both distilled and tap water to run through the
system.

We have both tried everything we can to get it working, but we haven't had
any success...not even a spark. I did hook up a voltmeter to see if there
were any changes and it did register a small difference, but nothing too
great.

Does anyone have any suggestions? We've been looking online and a couple of
books for some help, but still haven't had any success.

Thank you,
Dwight Souder
Ashland, OH


Dump the wood in favor of expanded polystyrene boards,
which are inestimably superior for the purpose.

On principle, I would eliminate the gator clips in favor of
a smooth connection. Or wrap the asperities with aluminum foil
and tape it down. Then, if the cans touch nothing but polystyrene,
I think you will be set for success! If your environment is
at all damp, the wires should be reasonably well seperated.
The upper electrodes should be relatively clase to the
droppers. You don't allow any splashes though, I hope?

Having metal reservoirs is non-standard, but I fancy
that this can help the startup, by having metal capillary
tubes as the droppers.



Brian Whatcott Altus OK Eureka!
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