Playing with high voltage and stored charges? Oh boy! What fun! But first, you need a machine capable of generating a high voltage. That’s what this project focused on, is making a generator capable of producing a very high voltage. Electrostatic generators use moving plates and brushes to create a high electrical potential difference in different areas, and then power can be drawn from this potential difference.

For my coursework at Wentworth Institute of Technology, we were required to fabricate an electrical project, and research its function and applications. My group selected researching generators, and we found out about electrostatic generators. These generators use static electric charge built up on a series of metal plates that rotate past each other. These generators are very good at generating a high voltage, but do not create much current, because of this capacitors are used on the outputs to store a charge, allowing a spark to arc through the air between the contacts. A DC votage of about 70V (average) was recorded on this particular generator, though these generators are theoretically capable of generating very high voltages.

Electrostatic Generator

Electrostatic Generator

The project dealt mostly with creating the generator, and making a brief presentation about electrostatic generators.