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J1-22. Electrostatic Attrac And Repuls - Wimshurst Machine

Purpose

To demonstrate electrostatic attraction and repulsion.

Equipment

Wimshurst machine, two conducting balls suspended by wires.

Images

J1-22

Description

Two conducting balls suspended from the two arms of the Wimshurst machine are oppositely charged and attract each other. The same two balls suspended from a single arm of the machine will repel each other.

References

Markus Zahn, Richard L. Goslin, and Larry F. Wicks, Self-Excited, Alternating, High-Voltage Generation Using a Modified Electrostatic Influence Machine, AJP 42, 289-294 (1974). ◙G. B. Putz, The Wimshurst Machine, Popular Electronics, December 1990, pp. 29-32. ◙Central Scientific Company catalog information sheet.