In Control

This is a static voltage generator, a device may be hundred years or more old. If you have seen van de graff generator or a winchestor machine, then you would have probably seen this also.

This is basically a van DeGraff generator. Is the professor asking us to determine how it works? If so, here's my guess:

The upper flow-thru cans are functioning as capacitors building up a charge. The side of one of the cans will become an anode and the side of the other will be a cathode (in the way which they will function). The water flowing thru the cans causes turbulent air currents within the walls of the cans which, when it builds in time, creates a boundary layer of air which attaches itself to the inner walls. The more turbulent air is closer to the water flow. The turbulent air and boundary layer move at different velocities and thus friction is created in the region between the two layers causing a voltage potential to build up.

The lower containers are also capacitors whose anode and cathode are the opposite of the cans above them. The water in the containers is the dialectric. When the upper cans can no longer build a charge, they discharge to the lower capacitors which are at voltage potential capacity and opposite polarity and so they discharge , attempting to find ground but instead, discharge into the sphere of opposite polarity causing causing the spark.

The turbulent stream of water which the professor observes just as the spark is about to occur is the point at which the upper capacitors can no longer build a charge and the boundary layer breaks away from the walls and the water flow becomes all turbulent.

That's my theory and ---I'm stickin' to it !!

Richard Harding
April, 2007

This is called a Kelvin Generator. It was first described 140 years ago.