120000 Volt Van de Graaff Generator

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http://www.instructables.com/id/120%2c000-Volt-Van-De-Graaff-Generator/

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120,000 Volt Van De Graaff Generatorby Tool Using Animal on March 24, 2007

Table of Contents

120,000 Volt Van De Graaff Generator ..............................................................................................

Intro: 120,000 Volt Van De Graaff Generator ......................................................................................

Step 1: Supplies ...........................................................................................................

Step 2: Making the sphere ....................................................................................................

Step 3: The motive system ...................................................................................................

Step 4: The Belt ...........................................................................................................

Step 5: The Base and column .................................................................................................

Step 6: Gross assembly .....................................................................................................

Step 7: The brushes and tuning ................................................................................................

Step 8: What's the voltage Kenneth? ............................................................................................

Related Instructables ........................................................................................................

Comments ................................................................................................................
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Author:Tool Using Animal

I'm a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, I am currently working on my Master's. Otherwise, I enjoybuilding things, designing the things I'm going to build, and fishing.

Intro: 120,000 Volt Van De Graaff GeneratorIt's Frankenstein time. Who doesn't enjoy the smell of ozone and the snap of a big fat spark?

The dome is rotating due to vibration

Although a Van De Graff generator has recently been posted I decided to post mine based on it's substantial differences.
http://www.instructables.com/id/120%2c000-Volt-Van-De-Graaff-Generator/http://member/Tool+Using+Animal/http://member/Tool+Using+Animal/


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Step 1:SuppliesWe'll need

Two matching mixing bowlselectrical tape3" PVC pipecloset flange1/2" pvc pipe and end capsa bucketsuperglueassorted nuts and boltsA 540 size electric motorcopper wire for brushesand a pair of pantyhose ;-)

Step 2:Making the sphereStart with your mixing bowls, BIGGER is BETTER. Measure how tall one bowl is and write that down somewhere I wrote it inside the bowl. Cut a 3.25" dia. hole in thebottom of one bowl, a sheet metal nibbler makes this easy. Now tape the two bowls together with electrical tape, and then tape around the nibbled opening. We useelectrical tape not because it's insulating, it's not at these voltages, but because it smooths and reduces corona discharge.

Image Notes1. tape2. tape

Step 3:The motive systemThe motive system consists of a roller made of pvc pipe attached to a 540 size motor. To build the roller carefully drill a hole smaller than the motor shaft diameterthrough the center of each end cap. Heat the motor shaft with a lighter and press one end cap onto the motor shaft squarely. Now cut a short length of pipe and assemthe roller. The bearing for the end opposite the motor is made from a piece of hardened steel rod epoxied to the head of a bolt. The top roller is made similarly to thebottom roller only it rides on simple brass bolts and is covered in aluminum tape.
http://www.garrettwade.com/sdx/209775.jsp


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Step 4:The BeltThis is where you need the pantyhose. Cut the legs off at the crotch and cut the toes off the legs. We'll use the legs for our belt, depending on the height of our generayou;ll make adjustments to total belt length, It should be stretched but not taut, or taut but not tight ;-). Anyways, overlap the ends of the leg and hold it in place with soscotch tape and wick in some superglue, hit it with some accelerator or let it cure overnight. If you use accelerator wash with alcohol after to remove residue.

Image Notes1. Glued, the bottle was used as the superglue wouldn't stick to it.

Step 5:The Base and columnThe base is an old laundry bucket , inverted. Lay the power roller and motor on top of the bucket and mark the location of the mounting holes and roller location. Usingthose markings locate the closet flange and mark it's mounting holes and the area inside to be cut out. Cut out the hole to match the closet flange and drill out all thelocations for assembly bolts.

The column is easy, simply mark down one end a distance equal to the height of one mixing bowl, now mark four points equidistant around the pipe at that location. D2" hole through the pipe through two opposite points and a pair of 1/8" holes through the other two points.

Image Notes1. motor stand offs may be necessary2. laying out the location

Image Notes1. flange mount2. end cap axle3. our neighbor to the north4. motor mount


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Image Notes1. top axle hole2. access hole

Step 6:Gross assemblyThe column is mounted to the bucket with the closet flange. The power roller is mounted inside the bucket and the mounting manipulated to make roller perpendicularthe column. The belt is slipped on BEFORE adjusting the roller. The belt is then pulled through the column with a scrap of wire and the top roller installed using small

bolts threaded into the PVC with nuts on the inside, as axles.

At this point apply a few volts to the motor and check to see the belt runs true, if it runs to one end, the end of that roller needs to be moved OUT, where out is away frthe middle of the machine.

Image Notes1. aluminum coated roller2. brush

Image Notes1. brush belt and roller Discovered that covering the roller in electrical tape gave aslight improvement to the spark


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Image Notes1. motor roller support

Step 7:The brushes and tuningThe brushes are multi strand copper wire fanned out and mounted approx. 1/4" inch from the belt roller combo at each end. The top brush is connected to the inside othe sphere and the bottom brush is connected to ground, whether an earth ground or power supply ground seems to be irrelevant.

At this point slip the dome on and apply about 6 volts to the motor. You should feel a charge around the dome.Tuning. Don't allow the brushes to rub against the belt, the deposited copper will make the belt conductive and the generator will stop working. If it fails to work at alladjust the brushes and try again. If all else fails degrease the rollers and belt with rubbing alcohol, grease is death to triboelectric charge separation.

Image Notes1. connects the brush inside to the dome's inside

Step 8:What's the voltage Kenneth?The breakdown voltage for dry air at sea level is commonly given as 3 million volts/meter. So for every centimeter of spark you have 30,000 volts. So far my longestrecorded spark is 40mm or 120,000 volts.


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Image Notes1. graphite coated ping pong ball.

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Comments

50 comments Add Comment view all 175 commen

peacefoots says: Feb 5, 2011. 1:20 PM REPhow small of a motor can you use

mujeebmurtaza95 says: Mar 10, 2009. 12:30 AM REPwill this make your hair stand on the end or not....please tell, i need it 4 a science project!!

ixonstater says: Jan 22, 2011. 4:00 PM REPyes, it will

sam971221 says: Dec 18, 2010. 5:03 PM REPThanx.Sooooo useful.

generator 2 says: Jun 16, 2010. 7:07 AM REPcool !

smithy.exe says: May 14, 2010. 8:32 AM REPit all depends on the length of your legs and the height of your generator
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goodcoldwater says: Mar 29, 2010. 9:50 PM REPI noticed corona discharges at the center edges of the dome on the video above. Corona points are electrical charge dissipations that decrease a VDGspotential output. To reduce this phenomenon you should smooth out and round off any acute edges and or angles. The more round and seamless the domis, higher the output. Just a tip!

sheial360 says: Jan 25, 2010. 11:03 AM REPI have followed all the instructions but my generator still does not work ...everything runs but there is no spark .do you have any ideas of maybe why it does not work??????? or what i can do to make it work ?????

goodcoldwater says: Mar 29, 2010. 9:34 PM REPTo

sheial360 : Make sure that the Bottom brush side has a good earth ground connection. If youre using a 120V motor to turn the roller look for the Greenwire on the motor power cord (make sure you unplug the motor first) its usually located in the electrical termination enclosure or motor housing andconnected to a terminal post. This wire is used as a fail safe wire just incase the motor were to short, but it also serves as a good grounding point whichruns to the earth ground for your house. Use a fork or ring connector with the right Gauge aka AWG size to make the connection, and be sure to crimthe connector properly. I wouldnt recommend grounding to another spot on the frame, due to higher resistance, unless the frame is made of copper orsilver, which is highly unlikely. OR you can stake a 5 to 6 piece of copper pipe or rod into the ground, leaving about 6 inches sticking out to tie in yourground ( if you do this make sure you use a copper ground clamp when connecting your wire.) Also you need to consider Humidity, its harder toproduce sparks in humid atmospheres. Running your VDG indoors with the AC on might help. Also instead of using panty hose, try using a surgicalrubber tourniquet or tube for the band ( Split the tube down the middle with a razor evenly) sand the ends down to a taper apply rubber cement to theends, overlap them and press together. Lay the glued ends on a flat surface and lay a heavy book or heavy flat object on the glued ends to help sealthem together (make sure you wipe away any excess beforehand to keep the band from sticking to the other surfaces) and just wait until the bondingprocess is complete. I hope this helps you!

sheial360 says: Jan 18, 2010. 11:47 AM REPSo does the bowl have be cut so the PVC pipe fits in it and the bowl covers the hole that was made and the roller ?????? ,

And does the sock have to move or does it stay still ????

Tool Using Animal says: Jan 18, 2010. 1:06 PM REPYes the bowl must be cut, the roller absolutely must be inside the domw.

The sock must also move, just like a fan belt on a car

instructa-fan says: Nov 18, 2007. 12:11 AM REPADVICE TO ALL VDG ATTEMPT-ING-ERS; I know that the only things i got stuck on in my four non-working vdg's is the rollers. As simple as, two differenmaterials such as plastic to metal,(used here) and the ground. Now the ground is only needed if you are using a hand crank. you can just do what he alsodoes here, and ram it in your electrical outlet, this will be a bottom brush. hope this helps!!! (just made my ood one today, AWESOME!!!!!!)

Kryptonite says: Dec 11, 2008. 5:16 PM REPWhoah whoah whoah whoah whoah, NEVER EVER stick anything into the ground of your electrical outlet!!!!Let me make this clear, you will probably get a verynasty jolt of mains supply electricity, with chances of it killing you. No joke, do not attempt this!!!!!!

Xellers says: Jan 19, 2009. 4:26 PM REPWhy? I use an old computer power supply that has been hollowed out for ground all the time. I took out all of the circuits, and then cut the mains linand glued all over them to keep them insulated. Now, I just plug it into the wall, and the only connection left is the ground one to the metal case.Works like a charm for crystal radios, Tesla coils, and such.

Kryptonite says: Jan 28, 2009. 2:00 AM REPIt depends on how much experience you've had. I take it back, when I said "never ever stick anything into the ground of your electricity outlet" Iwas thinking of your average beginner hobbyist. You can do it, I agree, but getting a plain wire and sticking it in isn't a real good idea. I stick witan outside water tap, just in case. Thanks for your point of view anyway!

Xellers says: Jan 28, 2009. 5:14 AM REPThe real reason why you shouldn't stick anything in your ground outlet is that it doesn't work well. You need an RF ground like a big metalpole (2-4 ft.) in the ground.

ogorir says: Jan 7, 2010. 5:17 PM REPby code(at least in michigan) your house ground needs to be attached to a 6' copper pole stuck in the ground, i believe, so it is below thfrost line.

Presuming you've insulated the other wires coming from the plug properly and presuming your house wiring is correct and to code* youshould be fine using the ground pin in your outlet.

* use an outlet tester. always. every time. before you plug anything over 1000W(commercially produced) or home-made into an outlet.most wiring is shoddy, incorrect, or just not safe. better to be safe than sorry.
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Kryptonite says: Jan 29, 2009. 2:29 PM REPHmmm, alright, just I've seen numerous warnings on kits and stuff that you need a ground, I know an electrician who warned me about iand my dad's built a house and warned me about it... Coincidence?

Betelgeus3 says: Sep 26, 2010. 9:07 AM REPThere's really nothing dangerous about sticking anything in a ground, only if you're connected to a hot lead would that hurt you. Nopower is transfered in a round unless somethin oes wron .

Kryptonite says: Oct 10, 2010. 1:19 AM REP...and knowin the number of times that happens! :P But thanks for tellin me.

static says: Dec 22, 2008. 2:30 AM REPIn the event the ground terminals in your receptacles have anything, but a 0(zero) potential, there is a problem with the wiring.

krissy551 says: Dec 19, 2009. 6:15 AM REPwho is going to make this he/she said that it was 120,000 VOLT!!!!!!!!!!!

Jodex says: Dec 25, 2009. 1:00 PM REPYou're not going to die if you'd touch it. It doesn't have much amperes. Amperes are the ones that kills you. Did you know that when you're petting yourcat there's over 15 000 volts, but next to no amperes, just couple of micro amperes.

emeraldamber says: Sep 30, 2009. 8:15 PM REPI really don't get the bottom brush connected to the ground... is it connected literally just to the ground..? and what is it for...? me and my groupmates aretrying to make one... we used Teflon for the bottom roller and aluminum at the top but it would just not work. does the motor have to be fast working? whatshould be the mixing bowl made of? aluminum? stainless? help! :(

Tool Using Animal says: Sep 30, 2009. 8:32 PM REPThe bottom bruh really is just connected to ground, it's just a soucre of charge. the mixing bowls can be any metal, on mistake I've seen over and overagain is the top roller and brush MUST be INSIDE the mixing bowls. The faster the motor the faster the charge builds up and it is a race against how fathe charge leaks away. Pix are always a help in diagnstics.

cupofsoup says: Sep 30, 2009. 1:36 PM REPvery cool thanks

emeraldamber says: Sep 20, 2009. 10:21 AM REP

hi, so batteries are the main source of power for this one? can't it make hair on head stand? what should be done to make hair on head stand? :D how mucdid this all cost?

Tool Using Animal says: Sep 20, 2009. 1:17 PM REPCost? it came from my junk box, so I don't know. TO small and leaky to make hair stand on end, increase size, minimize corona leakage. Batteries spinthe motor, and yes, technically they do the work of chage separation, Tesla published a wonderful article on the subject in Scientific American in the'30's.

josephsushil says: Sep 15, 2009. 9:30 AM REPwill our hair stand up with this van de graff

vijayanandrckz says: Aug 4, 2009. 11:02 PM REPwhere r de van de graff generators used in practically

vijayanandrckz says: Aug 4, 2009. 11:00 PM REPwhat r the limitations of these van de graff generators

slipknot rules says: Jul 3, 2009. 2:04 AM REPVan de graafs work best in under 40% humidity :)
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10/12


DrdNaught says: Jul 2, 2009. 9:48 PM REPy dont you just stitch it 2gether??

Leonyferreira52 says: May 18, 2009. 4:40 PM REPWe already made the generator but id like to know if i can plug an A540 motor to 110 volt outlet. or do i have to buy a converter 110 volts to 6 or 9 volts.please respond ASAP, thank you leony

Tool Using Animal says: May 18, 2009. 5:36 PM REPNO NO NO NO!!!!!!! You must use DC, because of the surrent draw, I wouldn't su est usin a wall wart either.

rk1776 says: May 6, 2009. 1:34 PM REPours is in progress. We are using a drill instead of an RC motor. It is more powerful but slower so we are going to use a band made from rubber so that wecreate more friction. Will update with more details soon.

rk1776 says: May 12, 2009. 11:21 AM REPthe drill isnt fast enough to generate enough friction so we changed from a nylon belt to a rubber belt made from a bike tire innertube. testing today willupdate soon.

snowman62494 says: Apr 14, 2009. 6:10 PM REPwill this make your hair stand on end

nguyenalexandert says:Mar 16, 2009. 6:27 PM REP

I just got mine working, however the sparks are really weak... i have to get within a few centimeters for it to give off a little spark, and i t's not even 100% ofthe time

Tool Using Animal says: Mar 16, 2009. 7:18 PM REPSorry man, been busy with school, The bottom roller is slipping because it's Teflon, a low friction material, try wrapping some electrical tape around ittemporarily to see how that works. Electrical tape has a much high coefficient of friction, the belt should slip less, Or perhaps tighten the belt some.

nguyenalexandert says: Mar 16, 2009. 8:13 PM REPThanks no problem, anyways i was able to make the belt work, I actually made a new belt with only one leg. By stretching it out as much as possiband making it really tight. The leg did not stretch as i left it in there for a couple hours. However i ended up taking off the teflon because i wasn't surif it was helping. I also got some sparks working after i attached some aluminum foil to the top roller, however it's really small... gatta get within 1 orcentimeters of the bowl before any sparks happen. Any suggestions?

Tool Using Animal says: Mar 16, 2009. 8:27 PM REPa video wouldn't hurt. One thing is total spark size is limited by dome size (but I don't remember the parameters), also, you could try operaring iin a perfectly dark room, it would need to be completely dark, and see if you can se any blue corona coming from any locations that would needto be insulated.

nguyenalexandert says: Mar 16, 2009. 9:47 PM REPI posted up 3 vids, the first one is my van der graph without the dome, as you can see the rollers are spinning pretty quickly, my belt is movquickly but it's squished up in that corner, and... that's about it. The second video actually has something in it ;) if you look closely towards thend you'll see some blue, that's the sparks their's barely anything almost not even noticeable. Also the 3rd video is pretty much just to provethat it's workin in a way, the tissue paper is risin , and as i et the thin to shock me the tissue oes down

Tool Using Animal says: Mar 17, 2009. 9:32 PM REPI couldn't quite tell, is the top roller below the dome, or inside the dome?

nguyenalexandert

says: Mar 17, 2009. 10:36 PM REP

The dome is placed on top of the black pvc, the top roller is inside the black pvc towards the top, it's beneath the dome, the brushhoweeever is attached inside the bottom of the dome. i think my problem might be that the belt squishes up in the corner? but it ispantyhose... so i can't really stop it, can't make i t lie out flat

Tool Using Animal says: Mar 18, 2009. 8:10 AM REPThe belt problem is caused by a slight misalignment in the rollers, if you can't adjust the roller you can try building up lightly theside it is running to with tape, for the top roller you can buy aluminium tape at the hardware store, in the HVAC section.The dome position, this is the real problem, the physics of van de graaff generators means that the top roller and brush assemblabsolutely MUST be located within the dome.Allow me to explain, as I'm sure you know like charges repel, if the belt and brush are inside the dome the charge is transferred the dome and migrates by repulsion to the outside of the dome, this leaves the inside uncharged but since the belt keeps movingnew charge into the dome it keeps migrating to the outside, and theoretically the charge on the outside could rise to infinity!Practically it won't but you get the idea.

When the brush and roller are outside the dome, the charge can only rise to the level of the charge on the belt, which is very sm
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11/12


Try this real quick experiment, disassemble your dome and just invert one of the bowls over the top, make sure the brush isatached and as long as the lip of the bowl is lower than the roller I'll bet it works much better.

nguyenalexandert says: Mar 16, 2009. 10:10 PM REP

Video

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nguyenalexandert says: Mar 16, 2009. 10:11 PM REP
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12/12

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nguyenalexandert says: Mar 14, 2009. 10:25 PM REPI just built mine 3 days ago, and need some help with the belt. I got it running it's just that it's not moving that quickly. The bottom roller has teflon on it, andthe top has aluminum. I tried it without teflon, and aluminum also. For some reason not catching on? The bottom roller is moving pretty quickly though. Couyou help me out? i could post a video of it

mujeebmurtaza95 says: Mar 10, 2009. 7:28 AM REPhow many volts is a 540 motor .. i hav a 9volts motor will it wrk/???nd wat happens if we touch the top(the orb kinda thing) with our bare hands??? will ourhair stnd up or sumthng?

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120000 Volt Van de Graaff Generator

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