Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Is there a sustainable way to produce static electricity and use it to power things?

NiceGirl761 - The characteristic of electrostatic electricity is very high voltage and very low current. What we would call a high impedence energy source. The voltages generated by Wimshurst machines or Van De Graaff generators can range into the 10's of millions of volts, but the current is usually in low microameres. If we do some math, a Van de Graff generator producing 10 million volts at 10 microamps is generating 10 watts of power. That isn't a lot of power, but if you have a source of energy (wind, water or other) it would be, at best, an inefficient way of generating electricity compared to an efficient generator or alternator.

The biggest problem you might face is how to convert 10 million volts to a usable voltage level to do real work. There are many good applications of very high voltages, but powering things like motors, lights and similar loads isn't a very practical use. You might research applications of high voltage to help understand the practical issues.

Rick Marz