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The Prototype Van de Graaff Generator. Officially I built this for a speech in my Freshman Accellerated Lang. Arts. class, but I really just used the speech as an excuse to get support from my parents. (i.e. rides to the hardware store) I kept this one as simple as I possibly could, to teach myself the basics, and also to prove that a VDG could be made with commen items. It has a hot spark length of at best 1.25"
This is the next Van de Graaff that I built(the V1). For this one, I used the facilities of the metals shop room of my high school. This occured during my sophomore year, in a stretch of time in which I was prohibited from any HV exploits at home.(as result of an accident at a friend's house involving a fly-back driver circuit of mine and his basement carpet) I bought a grey neoprene belt from Science First, and used a semi-sherical terminal made from a bunt pan and a steel mixing bowl. With that, it has produced sparks as long as 7". Charging current is ~5ľA
An ongoing project, the V2,This is FINALLY finished! It has a large terminal made from two steel mixing bowls expoxied and electrical taped together. It has a charging current of 15-20ľA and so far has produced 12" sparks.
My prototype Wimshurst machine.This is also a project of the metals room, kept as simple as possible, as it is the first of its kind I've ever built. It is the sectorless kind, also known as a Bonneti machine, usually they have metal combs for neutralizers instead of metal brushes, but, I find that a ste of wide brushes lightly touching the disks makes getting the sucker charged ludicrously easy when compared to using sharp points not touching the disk. It used to use a pair of bakelite 78-rpm records (10" dia) for discs, was hand cranked, and produced sparks just over and inch long in good (low)humidity. I converted it to sectored operation with 16 metal sectors per bakelite disk, and while it was now self-starting, the sparks were no more than 1/2" long. Now I have replaced the disks with plexiglass ones with new bosses, added insulation, added bearings and such to the drive assembly, and motorized it with a powerful 12VDC motor ;-). I have no leyden jars for this yet, but it's alright, as it still produces 4" sparks without one. AND, the plexi disks are easy enough to charge that I can use a piece of PVC pipe that has been rubbed against my arm. Previousy I had been using a HVDC power supply.
The New-And-Improved WimshurstThis thing was a real bitch to make, but not nearly as hard as the prototype... ...with direct-driven disks from two high-speed motors, thing is a beast... ...mostly because the disks are missaligned, and when separated enough so as to not touch, it is horribly difficult to get to charge. I usually cannot do it. Even when using an 18kV HVDC power supply.
I've written some help documents on building these machines, including this which is sort of a description of my prototype VDG, but contains loads of other practical info on building any VDG.
Prototype Voss Generator-was a failure.
Small cylindrical Voss Generator-don't know if I
will ever finish it.
The New-and-Improved sectorless Wimshurst-semi
completed, disks are permenantly missaligned, probably will be
much time before it is fixed & finished
New 12" Wimshurst- This is comming along,
it might be sectored, I don't know. Probably not.
"hey, what's this
do?"--OWW!," quoth Mr. Fuller, my metals teacher,
upon investigating the whirring, silver-domed, mushroom-shaped
device I'd said was harmless
email: electrophile@juno.com