Electrostatic Generator

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kimiko_desu
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Nov 15, 2014 6:42 pm
Occupation: Student: 8th grade
Project Question: Kelvin's Electrostatic Generator
Project Due Date: November 18
Project Status: I am conducting my experiment

Electrostatic Generator

Post by kimiko_desu »

For the science fair, I built a electrostatic generator. I had a problem with the amount of water falling through each inducer, on one side it was more water than the other. Therefore, I couldn't make the water flow 90 mL per minute. Also, it wouldn't produce sparks. I'd appreciate any suggestions to fix these problems.
deleted-235199
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2014 5:48 am
Occupation: Postdoctoral Scholar
Project Question: New Expert
Project Due Date: N/A
Project Status: Not applicable

Re: Electrostatic Generator

Post by deleted-235199 »

Hi kimiko_desu,

This is a very interesting project and I hope that it works out ok for you. Are there any differences in the length of one side of your generator dripper compared to the other? If these two lengths are the same and of the same materials, there is no obvious reason that you would be getting a larger flow on one side than the other. As for the sparks, it may take a while to build up enough charge to generate a spark. Make sure to ground everything prior to starting (connect the two inducers and cans to each other). Hopefully this helps and let me know about the length on the dripper.

Best of luck!

mjacobsen
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