Often seen in school science labs, what name is given to an electrostatic machine which uses a moving belt to accumulate very high voltages on a hollow metal globe?
Van de Graaff generator Van de Graaff generator A Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic generator which uses a moving belt to accumulate electric charge on a hollow metal globe on the top of an insulated column, creating very high electric potentials. It produces very high voltage direct current (DC) electricity at low current levels. It was invented by American physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff in 1929. The potential difference achieved by modern Van de Graaff generators can be as much as 5 megavolts. A tabletop version can produce on the order of 100,000 volts and can store enough energy to produce
Franklin's electrostatic machine Franklin's electrostatic machine Franklin's electrostatic machine is a high-voltage static electricity-generating device used by Benjamin Franklin in the mid-18th century for research into electrical phenomena. Its key components are a glass globe which turned on an axis via a crank, a cloth pad in contact with the spinning globe, a set of metal needles to conduct away the charge developed on the globe by its friction with the pad, and a Leyden jara high-voltage capacitorto accumulate the charge. Franklin's experiments with the machine eventually led to new theories about electricity and inventing the lightning rod. Franklin was not the first