Van de Graaff Generator Links

This post contains links to web resources that are useful for learning about Van de Graaff electrostatic generators for both students, builders, and users of these amazing devices.

Hyperphysics site

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/vandeg.html

Princeton University VdG site. Where it all began:

https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Van_de_Graaff_generator.html

The Wiki article on Van de Graaffs. Be careful with anything you read in wikis as the people writing them don't always know what they are talking about, but often a good resource.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_de_Graaff_generator

A great VdG resource page in the amasci.com website. Lots of information about using VdGs and dealing with humidity issues.  The suppliers list gives prices for cheap models and kits from 1997, for some reason. Almost 20 years old so out of date.
http://amasci.com/emotor/vdg.html

This link goes directly to a discussion on how Van de Graaffs develop a charge and drive it up the belt. Very clear and accurate description and good diagrams of a charging process that is more complex, and more elegant, than it seems at first.
http://amasci.com/emotor/belt.html

Watch as the Mythbusters, very skilled builders, basically crash and burn in their attempt to construct a good Van de Graaff. The thing they make is gigantic, and mechanically sound, but the devil is in VdG details, and they miss those completely. The result is a monster machine that produces sparks only about 1" long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qgM1A3pgkQ

I have been asked by Maya to include a link to this Van de Graaff escape planning exercise from Maya and Phoebe's Feline Journal of F.I.S.H.  (Feline Industry, Science, and Health)

http://www.felinejoffish.com/2013/10/van-de-graaff-escape-planning.html

Despite the good safety record of VdGs to date, safety considerations are not something that can be neglected. Please do not exceed your level of understanding, and beware of hazards that even the tiny currents produced by VdGs (about 10 µA) can potentially cause. For more on safety, see the upcoming post on that topic in this blog.

A British site discussing safety

http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/practical-physics/van-de-graaff-generator-safety

Shock hazards

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/shock.html#c1

When I was a child I was fortunate to receive the greatest gift that any child could ever hope for – a Van de Graaff generator.

It was the coolest thing. A mere rubber band, a rubber band, running over pulleys, driven through gears, set in motion by my child's hand, produced hundreds of thousands of volts of electricity. Incredible sparks. Mysterious forces. What could be cooler than that?

Decades passed, but my fascination with Van de Graaffs didn't.

This blog will describe a series of VdG generator designs that I am now developing, and will soon produce and make available on a limited basis. These machines will be of the highest quality throughout, with ball bearing motors and idler pulleys, heavy gauge stainless steel spheres, transparent acrylic columns, and oversized, high-efficiency motors.

Maya experiments with an early model machine in the image at right. Maya's technical assistance has been invaluable throughout this development effort.

The noise levels of these generators will be orders of magnitude lower than typical machines because of the high quality of the motors, bearings, and pulleys, a critical consideration in any VdG used for teaching.

Designed from the ground up with a modular construction paradigm, the columns can be swapped out for longer or shorter generators, motors changed for higher current or smoother operation. The generators are designed for convenient access for belt replacement and cleaning. They will be built to be used, maintained, and rebuilt for decades of service.

Stay tuned for the "first arcs" to appear here soon.

-Mark