Electrostatic

generator

A Van de Graaff generator, for class room

 g
demonstrations

An electrostatic generator, or electrostatic

machine, is an electromechanical
generator that produces static electricity,
or electricity at high voltage and low
continuous current. The knowledge of
static electricity dates back to the earliest
civilizations, but for millennia it remained
merely an interesting and mystifying
phenomenon, without a theory to explain
its behavior and often confused with
magnetism. By the end of the 17th century,
researchers had developed practical
means of generating electricity by friction,
but the development of electrostatic
machines did not begin in earnest until the
18th century, when they became
fundamental instruments in the studies
about the new science of electricity.
Electrostatic generators operate by using
manual (or other) power to transform
mechanical work into electric energy.
Electrostatic generators develop
electrostatic charges of opposite signs
rendered to two conductors, using only
electric forces, and work by using moving
plates, drums, or belts to carry electric
charge to a high potential electrode. The
charge is generated by one of two
methods: either the triboelectric effect
(friction) or electrostatic induction.

Description
Electrostatic machines are typically used
in science classrooms to safely
demonstrate electrical forces and high
voltage phenomena. The elevated
potential differences achieved have been
also used for a variety of practical
applications, such as operating X-ray
tubes, medical applications, sterilization of
food, and nuclear physics experiments.
Electrostatic generators such as the Van
de Graaff generator, and variations as the
Pelletron, also find use in physics
research.

Electrostatic generators can be divided

into two categories depending on how the
charge is generated:

Friction machines use the triboelectric

effect (electricity generated by contact
or friction)
Influence machines use electrostatic
induction

Friction machines

History
Typical friction machine using a glass globe, common
in the 18th century

Martinus van Marum's Electrostatic generator at

Teylers Museum
The first electrostatic generators are
called friction machines because of the
friction in the generation process. A
primitive form of frictional machine was
invented around 1663 by Otto von
Guericke, using a sulphur globe that could
be rotated and rubbed by hand. It may not
actually have been rotated during use and
was not intended to produce electricity
(rather cosmic virtues),[1] but inspired
many later machines that used rotating
globes. Isaac Newton suggested the use
of a glass globe instead of a sulphur
one.[2] Francis Hauksbee improved the
basic design,[3] with his frictional electrical
machine that enabled a glass sphere to be
rotated rapidly against a woollen cloth.[4]

Generators were further advanced when

Prof. Georg Matthias Bose of Wittenberg
added a collecting conductor (an insulated
tube or cylinder supported on silk strings).
Bose was the first to employ the "prime
conductor" in such machines, this
consisting of an iron rod held in the hand
of a person whose body was insulated by
standing on a block of resin.

In 1746, William Watson's machine had a

large wheel turning several glass globes,
with a sword and a gun barrel suspended
from silk cords for its prime conductors.
Johann Heinrich Winckler, professor of
physics at Leipzig, substituted a leather
cushion for the hand. During 1746, Jan
Ingenhousz invented electric machines
made of plate glass.[5] Experiments with
the electric machine were largely aided by
the discovery of the Leyden Jar. This early
form of the capacitor, with conductive
coatings on either side of the glass, can
accumulate a charge of electricity when
connected with a source of electromotive
force.

The electric machine was soon further

improved by Andrew (Andreas) Gordon, a
Scotsman and professor at Erfurt, who
substituted a glass cylinder in place of a
glass globe; and by Giessing of Leipzig
who added a "rubber" consisting of a
cushion of woollen material. The collector,
consisting of a series of metal points, was
added to the machine by Benjamin Wilson
about 1746, and in 1762, John Canton of
England (also the inventor of the first pith-
ball electroscope) improved the efficiency
of electric machines by sprinkling an
amalgam of tin over the surface of the
rubber.[6] In 1768, Jesse Ramsden
constructed a widely used version of a
plate electrical generator.
In 1783, Dutch scientist Martin van Marum
of Haarlem designed a large electrostatic
machine of high quality with glass disks
1.65 meters in diameter for his
experiments. Capable of producing
voltage with either polarity, it was built
under his supervision by John Cuthbertson
of Amsterdam the following year. The
generator is currently on display at the
Teylers Museum in Haarlem.

In 1785, N. Rouland constructed a silk-

belted machine that rubbed two grounded
tubes covered with hare fur. Edward Nairne
developed an electrostatic generator for
medical purposes in 1787 that had the
ability to generate either positive or
negative electricity, the first of these being
collected from the prime conductor
carrying the collecting points and the
second from another prime conductor
carrying the friction pad. The Winter
machine possessed higher efficiency than
earlier friction machines. In the 1830s,
Georg Ohm possessed a machine similar
to the Van Marum machine for his
research (which is now at the Deutsches
Museum, Munich, Germany). In 1840, the
Woodward machine was developed by
improving the Ramsden machine, placing
the prime conductor above the disk(s).
Also in 1840, the Armstrong hydroelectric
machine was developed, using steam as a
charge carrier.

Friction operation

The presence of surface charge imbalance

means that the objects will exhibit
attractive or repulsive forces. This surface
charge imbalance, which leads to static
electricity, can be generated by touching
two differing surfaces together and then
separating them due to the phenomenon
of the triboelectric effect. Rubbing two
non-conductive objects generates a great
amount of static electricity. This is not the
result of friction; two non-conductive
surfaces can become charged by just
being placed one on top of the other. Since
most surfaces have a rough texture, it
takes longer to achieve charging through
contact than through rubbing. Rubbing
objects together increases amount of
adhesive contact between the two
surfaces. Usually insulators, e.g.,
substances that do not conduct electricity,
are good at both generating, and holding, a
surface charge. Some examples of these
substances are rubber, plastic, glass, and
pith. Conductive objects in contact
generate charge imbalance too, but retain
the charges only if insulated. The charge
that is transferred during contact
electrification is stored on the surface of
each object. Note that the presence of
electric current does not detract from the
electrostatic forces nor from the sparking,
from the corona discharge, or other
phenomena. Both phenomena can exist
simultaneously in the same system.

Influence machines

History

Frictional machines were, in time,

gradually superseded by the second class
of instrument mentioned above, namely,
influence machines. These operate by
electrostatic induction and convert
mechanical work into electrostatic energy
by the aid of a small initial charge which is
continually being replenished and
reinforced. The first suggestion of an
influence machine appears to have grown
out of the invention of Volta's
electrophorus. The electrophorus is a
single-plate capacitor used to produce
imbalances of electric charge via the
process of electrostatic induction.

The next step was when Abraham Bennet,

the inventor of the gold leaf electroscope,
described a "doubler of electricity" (Phil.
Trans., 1787), as a device similar to the
electrophorus, but that could amplify a
small charge by means of repeated
manual operations with three insulated
plates, in order to make it observable in an
electroscope. Erasmus Darwin, W. Wilson,
G. C. Bohnenberger, and (later, 1841) J. C.
E. Péclet developed various modifications
of Bennet's device. Francis Ronalds
automated the generation process in 1816
by adapting a pendulum bob as one of the
plates, driven by clockwork or a steam
engine – he created the device to power
his electric telegraph.[7][8] In 1788, William
Nicholson proposed his rotating doubler,
which can be considered as the first
rotating influence machine. His instrument
was described as "an instrument which by
turning a winch produces the two states of
electricity without friction or
communication with the earth". (Phil.
Trans., 1788, p. 403) Nicholson later
described a "spinning condenser"
apparatus, as a better instrument for
measurements.

Others, including T. Cavallo (who

developed the "Cavallo multiplier", a
charge multiplier using simple addition, in
1795), John Read, Charles Bernard
Desormes, and Jean Nicolas Pierre
Hachette, developed further various forms
of rotating doublers. In 1798, The German
scientist and preacher Gottlieb Christoph
Bohnenberger, described the
Bohnenberger machine, along with several
other doublers of Bennet and Nicholson
types in a book. The most interesting of
these were described in the "Annalen der
Physik" (1801). Giuseppe Belli, in 1831,
developed a simple symmetrical doubler
which consisted of two curved metal
plates between which revolved a pair of
plates carried on an insulating stem. It
was the first symmetrical influence
machine, with identical structures for both
terminals. This apparatus was reinvented
several times, by C. F. Varley, that patented
a high power version in 1860, by Lord
Kelvin (the "replenisher") 1868, and by A. D.
Moore (the "dirod"), more recently. Lord
Kelvin also devised a combined influence
machine and electromagnetic machine,
commonly called a mouse mill, for
electrifying the ink in connection with his
siphon recorder, and a water-drop
electrostatic generator (1867), which he
called the "water-dropping condenser".

Holtz machine

Holtz's influence machine

Between 1864 and 1880, W. T. B. Holtz
constructed and described a large number
of influence machines which were
considered the most advanced
developments of the time. In one form, the
Holtz machine consisted of a glass disk
mounted on a horizontal axis which could
be made to rotate at a considerable speed
by a multiplying gear, interacting with
induction plates mounted in a fixed disk
close to it. In 1865, August J. I. Toepler
developed an influence machine that
consisted of two disks fixed on the same
shaft and rotating in the same direction. In
1868, the Schwedoff machine had a
curious structure to increase the output
current. Also in 1868, several mixed
friction-influence machine were developed,
including the Kundt machine and the Carré
machine. In 1866, the Piche machine (or
Bertsch machine) was developed. In 1869,
H. Julius Smith received the American
patent for a portable and airtight device
that was designed to ignite powder. Also in
1869, sectorless machines in Germany
were investigated by Poggendorff.

The action and efficiency of influence

machines were further investigated by F.
Rossetti, A. Righi, and Friedrich
Kohlrausch. E. E. N. Mascart, A. Roiti, and
E. Bouchotte also examined the efficiency
and current producing power of influence
machines. In 1871, sectorless machines
were investigated by Musaeus. In 1872,
Righi's electrometer was developed and
was one of the first antecedents of the
Van de Graaff generator. In 1873, Leyser
developed the Leyser machine, a variation
of the Holtz machine. In 1880, Robert Voss
(a Berlin instrument maker) devised a form
of machine in which he claimed that the
principles of Toepler and Holtz were
combined. The same structure become
also known as the Toepler-Holtz machine.

Wimshurst machine
A small Wimshurst machine

In 1878, the British inventor James

Wimshurst started his studies about
electrostatic generators, improving the
Holtz machine, in a powerful version with
multiple disks. The classical Wimshurst
machine, that became the most popular
form of influence machine, was reported
to the scientific community by 1883,
although previous machines with very
similar structures were previously
described by Holtz and Musaeus. In 1885,
one of the largest-ever Wimshurst
machines was built in England (it is now at
the Chicago Museum of Science and
Industry). The Wimshurst machine is a
considerably simple machine; it works, as
all influence machines, with electrostatic
induction of charges, which means that it
uses even the slightest existing charge to
create and accumulate more charges, and
repeats this process for as long as the
machine is in action. Wimshurst machines
are composed of: two insulated disks
attached to pulleys of opposite rotation,
the disks have small conductive (usually
metal) plates on their outward-facing
sides; two double-ended brushes that
serve as charge stabilizers and are also
the place where induction happens,
creating the new charges to be collected;
two pairs of collecting combs, which are,
as the name implies, the collectors of
electrical charge produced by the machine;
two Leyden Jars, the capacitors of the
machine; a pair of electrodes, for the
transfer of charges once they have been
sufficiently accumulated. The simple
structure and components of the
Wimshurst Machine make it a common
choice for a homemade electrostatic
experiment or demonstration, these
characteristics were factors that
contributed to its popularity, as previously
mentioned.[9]

In 1887, Weinhold modified the Leyser

machine with a system of vertical metal
bar inductors with wooden cylinders close
to the disk for avoiding polarity reversals.
M. L. Lebiez described the Lebiez
machine, that was essentially a simplified
Voss machine (L'Électricien, April 1895,
pp. 225–227). In 1893, Bonetti patented a
machine with the structure of the
Wimshurst machine, but without metal
sectors in the disks.[10][11] This machine is
significantly more powerful than the
sectored version, but it must usually be
started with an externally applied charge.

In 1898, the Pidgeon machine was

developed with a unique setup by W. R.
Pidgeon. On October 28 that year, Pidgeon
presented this machine to the Physical
Society after several years of investigation
into influence machines (beginning at the
start of the decade). The device was later
reported in the Philosophical Magazine
(December 1898, pg. 564) and the
Electrical Review (Vol. XLV, pg. 748). A
Pidgeon machine possesses fixed
inductors arranged in a manner that
increases the electrical induction effect
(and its electrical output is at least double
that of typical machines of this type
[except when it is overtaxed]). The
essential features of the Pidgeon machine
are, one, the combination of the rotating
support and the fixed support for inducing
charge, and, two, the improved insulation
of all parts of the machine (but more
especially of the generator's carriers).
Pidgeon machines are a combination of a
Wimshurst Machine and Voss Machine,
with special features adapted to reduce
the amount of charge leakage. Pidgeon
machines excite themselves more readily
than the best of these types of machines.
In addition, Pidgeon investigated higher
current "triplex" section machines (or
"double machines with a single central
disk") with enclosed sectors (and went on
to receive British Patent 22517 (1899) for
this type of machine).

Multiple disk machines and "triplex"

electrostatic machines (generators with
three disks) were also developed
extensively around the turn of the 20th
century. In 1900, F. Tudsbury discovered
that enclosing a generator in a metallic
chamber containing compressed air, or
better, carbon dioxide, the insulating
properties of compressed gases enabled a
greatly improved effect to be obtained
owing to the increase in the breakdown
voltage of the compressed gas, and
reduction of the leakage across the plates
and insulating supports. In 1903, Alfred
Wehrsen patented an ebonite rotating disk
possessing embedded sectors with button
contacts at the disk surface. In 1907,
Heinrich Wommelsdorf reported a
variation of the Holtz machine using this
disk and inductors embedded in celluloid
plates (DE154175; "Wehrsen machine").
Wommelsdorf also developed several
high-performance electrostatic generators,
of which the best known were his
"Condenser machines" (1920). These were
single disk machines, using disks with
embedded sectors that were accessed at
the edges.

Modern electrostatic
generators

Electrostatic generators had a

fundamental role in the investigations
about the structure of matter, starting at
the end of the 19th century. By the 1920s,
it was evident that machines able to
produce greater voltage were needed.

Van de Graaff

The Van de Graaff generator was invented

by American physicist Robert J. Van de
Graaff in 1929 at MIT as a particle
accelerator.[12] The first model was
demonstrated in October 1929. In the Van
de Graaff machine, an insulating belt
transports electric charge to the interior of
an insulated hollow metal high voltage
terminal, where it is transferred to the
terminal by a "comb" of metal points. The
advantage of the design was that since
there was no electric field in the interior of
the terminal, the charge on the belt could
continue to be discharged onto the
terminal regardless of how high the
voltage on the terminal was. Thus the only
limit to the voltage on the machine is
ionization of the air next to the terminal.
This occurs when the electric field at the
terminal exceeds the dielectric strength of
air, about 30 kV per centimeter. Since the
highest electric field is produced at sharp
points and edges, the terminal is made in
the form of a smooth hollow sphere; the
larger the diameter the higher the voltage
attained. The first machine used a silk
ribbon bought at a five and dime store as
the charge transport belt. In 1931 a
version able to produce 1,000,000 volts
was described in a patent disclosure.

The Van de Graaff generator was a

successful particle accelerator, producing
the highest energies until the late 1930s
when the cyclotron superseded it. The
voltage on open air Van de Graaff
machines is limited to a few million volts
by air breakdown. Higher voltages, up to
about 25 megavolts, were achieved by
enclosing the generator inside a tank of
pressurized insulating gas. This type of
Van de Graaff particle accelerator is still
used in medicine and research. Other
variations were also invented for physics
research, such as the Pelletron, that uses a
chain with alternating insulating and
conducting links for charge transport.

Small Van de Graaff generators are

commonly used in science museums and
science education to demonstrate the
principles of static electricity. A popular
demonstration is to have a person touch
the high voltage terminal while standing
on an insulated support; the high voltage
charges the person's hair, causing the
strands to stand out from the head.

EWICON

An electrostatic wind energy converter, the

EWICON, has been developed by The
School of Electrical Engineering,
Mathematics and Computer Science at
Delft University of Technology (TU Delft).
Other than the wind, it has no moving
parts. It is powered by the wind carrying
away charged particles from its
collector.[13]

Fringe science and devices

These generators have been used,
sometimes inappropriately and with some
controversy, to support various fringe
science investigations. In 1911, George
Samuel Piggott received a patent for a
compact double machine enclosed within
a pressurized box for his experiments
concerning radiotelegraphy and
"antigravity". Much later (in the 1960s), a
machine known as "Testatika" was built by
German engineer, Paul Suisse Bauman,
and promoted by a Swiss community, the
Methernithans. Testatika is an
electromagnetic generator based on the
1898 Pidgeon electrostatic machine, said
to produce "free energy" available directly
from the environment.

See also
Electrostatic motor
Electrometer (also known as the
"electroscope")
Electret
Static electricity
References
1. See:
Heathcote, N. H. de V. (1950)
"Guericke's sulphur globe", Annals of
Science, 6 : 293-305.
Zeitler, Jürgen (2011) "Guerickes
Weltkräfte und die Schwefelkugel",
Monumenta Guerickiana 20/21 : 147-
156.
Schiffer, Michael Brian (2003). Bringing
the Lightning Down: Benjamin Franklin
and Electrical Technology in the Age of
Enlightenment . Univ. of California
Press. ISBN 0-520-24829-5.,p.18-19
2. Optics, 8th Query
3. Hauksbee, Francis (1709). Psicho-
Mechanical Experiments On Various
Subjects. R. Brugis.
4. Stephen Pumfrey, ‘Francis Hauksbee
(bap. 1660, died 1713)’, Oxford Dictionary of
National Biography, Oxford University Press,
May 2009
5. Consult Dr. Carpue's 'Introduction to
Electricity and Galvanism,' London 1803.
6. Maver, William Jr.: "Electricity, its History
and Progress", The Encyclopedia
Americana; a library of universal knowledge,
vol. X, pp. 172ff. (1918). New York:
Encyclopedia Americana Corp.
7. Ronalds, B.F. (2016). Sir Francis Ronalds:
Father of the Electric Telegraph. London:
Imperial College Press. ISBN 978-1-78326-
917-4.
8. Ronalds, B.F. (2016). "Sir Francis Ronalds
and the Electric Telegraph". Int. J. for the
History of Engineering & Technology. 86:
42. doi:10.1080/17581206.2015.1119481 .
9. De Queiroz, A. C (2014). "Operation of the
Wimshurst Machine" .
MIT (2010). "MIT Physics Demo -- The
Wimshurst Machine" .
Weisstein, E. W (1996–2007).
"Wimshurst Machine -- from Eric
Weisstein's World of Physics" .
 Von Slatt, J (2012). "Jake's Wimshurst
Machine and How to Build It! (Part
1)" .
10. Bonetti, "Une machine électrostatique,
genre Wimshurst, sans secteurs et invisible"
[An electrostatic machine of the Wimshurst
type, without visible sectors], French patent
no. 232,623 (issued: September 5, 1893).
See: Description des machines et procédés
pour lesquels des brevets d'invention ont
été pris … (Descriptions of machines and
processes for which patents of invention
have been taken … ), 2nd series, vol. 87, part
2 (1893), section: Instruments de précision:
Production et transport de l'électricité, page
87.
11. See also:
(Anon.) (April 14, 1894) "Machines
d'induction électrostatique sans
secteurs" (Electrostatic induction
machines without sectors), La Nature,
22 (1089) : 305-306.
English translation of La Nature article
(above): (Anon.) (May 26, 1894)
"Electrostatic induction machines
without sectors," Scientific American,
70 (21) : 325-326.
S. M. Keenan (August 1897)
"Sectorless Wimshurst machines,"
American Electrician, 9 (8) : 316-317
Instructions for building a Bonetti
machine
G. Pellissier (1891) "Théorie de la
machine de Wimshurst" (Theory of
Wimshurt's machine), Journal de
Physique théoretique et appliquée, 2nd
series, 10 (1) : 414-419. On p. 418,
French lighting engineer Georges
Pellissier describes what is essentially
a Bonetti machine: " … la machine de
Wimshurst pourrait, en effet, être
construite avec des plateaux de verre
unis et des peignes au lieu de brosses
aux extrémités des conducteurs
diamétraux. L'amorçage au départ
devrait être fait à l'aide d'une source
étrangère, placée, par example, en face
de A1, à l'extérieur." ( … Wimshurst's
machine could, in effect, be
constructed with plain glass plates and
with combs in place of brushes at the
ends of the diametrical conductors.
The initial charging could be done with
the aid of an external source placed,
for example, opposite and outside of
[section] A1 [of the glass disk].)
Pellissier then states that "the role of
the metallic sectors of the Wimshurst
machine seems to be primarily, in
effect, to facilitate its automatic
starting and to reduce the influence of
atmospheric humidity."
12. Van de Graaff, R. J.; Compton, K. T.; Van
Atta, L. C. (February 1933). "The
Electrostatic Production of High Voltage for
Nuclear Investigations" (PDF). Physical
Review. American Physical Society. 43 (3):
149–157. Bibcode:1933PhRv...43..149V .
doi:10.1103/PhysRev.43.149 . Retrieved
August 31, 2015.
13. landartgenerator (April 13, 2013).
"EWICON (Electrostatic Wind Energy
Converter)" . landartgenerator.org.
Retrieved February 26, 2015.

Further reading
Gottlieb Christoph Bohnenberger:
Description of different electricity-
doubler of a new device, along with a
number of experiments on various
subjects of electricity, etc.. Tübingen
1798.
William Holtz: On a new electrical
machine .. In: Johann Poggendorff, CG
Barth (Eds.): Annals of physics and
chemistry. 126, Leipzig 1865, p. 157 -
171st
William Holtz: the higher charge on
insulating surfaces by side pull and the
transfer of this principle to the
construction of induction machines .. In:
Johann Poggendorff, CG Barth (eds):
Annals of physics and chemistry. 130,
Leipzig 1867, p. 128 - 136
William Holtz: The influence machine. In:
F. Poske (Eds.): Annals of physics and
chemistry. Julius Springer, Berlin 1904
(seventeenth year, the fourth issue).
O. Lehmann: Dr. J. Frick's physical
technique. 2, Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn,
Braunschweig 1909, p. 797 (Section 2).
F. Poske: New forms of influence
machines .. In: F. Poske (eds) for the
physical and chemical education.
journal Julius Springer, Berlin 1893
(seventh year, second issue).
C. L. Stong, "Electrostatic motors are
powered by electric field of the Earth ".
October, 1974. (PDF)
Oleg D. Jefimenko, "Electrostatic Motors:
Their History, Types, and Principles of
Operation". Electret Scientific, Star City,
1973.
G. W. Francis (author) and Oleg D.
Jefimenko (editor), "Electrostatic
Experiments: An Encyclopedia of Early
Electrostatic Experiments,
Demonstrations, Devices, and
Apparatus". Electret Scientific, Star City,
2005.
V. E. Johnson, "Modern High-Speed
Influence Machines; Their principles,
construction and applications to
radiography, radio-telegraphy, spark
photography, electro-culture, electro-
therapeutics, high-tension gas ignition,
and the testing of materials". ISBN
B0000EFPCO
Alfred W. Simon, "Quantitative Theory of
the Influence Electrostatic Generator ".
Phys. Rev. 24, 690–696 (1924), Issue 6
– December 1924.
J. Clerk Maxwell, Treatise on Electricity
and Magnetism (2nd ed.,Oxford, 1881),
vol. i. p. 294
Joseph David Everett, Electricity
(expansion of part iii. of Augustin Privat-
Deschanel's "Natural Philosophy")
(London, 1901), ch. iv. p. 20
A. Winkelmann, Handbuch der Physik
(Breslau, 1905), vol. iv. pp. 50–58
(contains a large number of references
to original papers)
J. Gray, "Electrical Influence Machines,
Their Historical Development and Modern
Forms [with instruction on making them]"
(London, I903). (J. A. F.)
Silvanus P. Thompson, The Influence
Machine from Nicholson -1788 to 1888,
Journ. Soc. Tel. Eng., 1888, 17, p. 569
 John Munro, The Story Of Electricity
(The Project Gutenberg Etext)
A. D. Moore (Editor), "Electrostatics and
its Applications". Wiley, New York, 1973.
Oleg D. Jefimenko (with D. K. Walker),
"Electrostatic motors". Phys. Teach. 9,
121-129 (1971).
W. R. Pidgeon, "An Influence-Machine".
Proc. Phys. Soc. London 12(1)1
(October 1892) 406–411 and 16(1)
(October 1897) 253–257.

External links
Electrostatic Generator - Interactive Java
Tutorial National High Magnetic Field
Laboratory
"Electrical (or Electrostatic) Machine ".
1911 encyclopedia.
"How it works : Electricity ".
triquartz.co.uk.
Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz,
"Electrostatic Machines ".
"Operation of the Wimshurst
machine ".
"Doublers of Electricity ", 2007 Phys.
Educ. 42 156-162.
American Museum of Radio:
Electrostatic Machines
The Bakken Museum: frictional
generators
"Articles on Electrostatics from those
that actually made the discoveries ".
Experiments with non conventional
energy technologies.
Sir William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), "On
Electric Machines Founded on Induction
and Convection ". Philosophical
Magazine, January 1868.
Bill Beaty, "'Kelvin's Thunderstorm' ; Lord
Kelvin's water-drop electrostatic
generator". 1995.
M. Hill and D. J. Jacobs, "A novel Kelvin
Electrostatic Generator ", 1997 Phys.
Educ. 32 60-63.
 Paolo Brenni (Author) and Willem
Hackmann (Editor), "The Van de Graaff
Generator: An Electrostatic Machine for
the 20th Century ". Bulletin of the
Scientific Instrument Society No. 63
(1999)
Nikola Tesla, "Possibilities Of
Electrostatic Generators". Scientific
American, March 1934. (ed., Available
.doc format )
Lyonel Baum, "1,000,000 Volts, Felici's
electrostatic generator ". 2000.

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