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So I know graphite is electrically conductive... This is
pretty widely known. I noticed today that it is also good at
accumulating (and discharging) static electricity. While
routing, and more intensely while deburring with a
handheld belt sander, a duct comprised of layers of
Kevlar and graphite,
the
hand I used to hold the duct in
place on the table was getting continuously shocked,
through two layers of glove to boot.
So I got to thinking, it'd be pretty neat to set up a display
like that, similar to a typical Van De Graaff generator but
with no metallic components. Has it been done?
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Annotation:
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Almost certainly technically possible; ironically, the difficult part
might be the mechanical rather than the electrical aspects.
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The drive for the belt is going to have to be a windmill, or a
waterwheel, or a descending weight.
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Most Wimshurst machines were built of wood, glass and ivory. |
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Sparkz güd... I've really been putting a lot of thought
lately into the potential of nonmetallic composites. |
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Cat fur is pretty good, if I remember right. Actually, I
remember my Physics teacher vigorously stroking his
black rod with something like cat's fur, in order to get
a discharge.
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Any examples of a completely nonmetallic Wimshurst or Van De
Graaff machine that come to mind, 8th? I'm not being argumentative
or defensive here: I'm genuinely curious. |
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Well, we would say "odd" rather than "curious", but that's just
semantics.
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No, we can't cite examples. But carbonised thread would provide
conductive paths (it worked in the first incandescent lamps) and
carbowax could provide the conductive pads on Wimshurst discs.
Likewise, carbowax could be employed to make Leyden jars.
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// Cat fur is pretty good, if I remember right. //
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Oh, you do … <evil chuckling>
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// Actually, I remember my Physics teacher vigorously stroking
his black rod with something like cat's fur, in order to get a
discharge. Ahem. //
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That could have been phrased in a less ambiguous way … |
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