20-05-2017, 07:33 AM
I saw that in action last Sunday along with the Whimshurst machine on the same stall.
At a previous job one of the technicians brought in a similar type of coil and fitted the classic Jacobs ladder to it. We were all highly entertained by the spark climbing the "ladder". Our amusement was short lived as we learned that the RFI had taken out an old PC in the adjacent room!
We also has a Whimshurst machine at school but it was in a glass cabinet, however we did have a Van de Graaf generator which was demonstrated to us in class. This was impressive but not as impressive as the demonstration that the lab technician had given to the radio club the previous evening. He showed us the normal sparking then connected a Leyden jar across the output terminals, widened the spark gap to about a foot, moved us all back a couple of feet then started turning the handle. After what seemed like an age there was an almighty crack and flash as the leyden Jar discharged across the wider gap. We were all impressed.
The technician also showed us that drawing a spark from the dome of the generator using one of your finger joints was less painful than using the tip of your finger, which most people do, as there are fewer nerve endings in the joint that your finger tip.
Enjoy your EMC generator!
Keith
At a previous job one of the technicians brought in a similar type of coil and fitted the classic Jacobs ladder to it. We were all highly entertained by the spark climbing the "ladder". Our amusement was short lived as we learned that the RFI had taken out an old PC in the adjacent room!
We also has a Whimshurst machine at school but it was in a glass cabinet, however we did have a Van de Graaf generator which was demonstrated to us in class. This was impressive but not as impressive as the demonstration that the lab technician had given to the radio club the previous evening. He showed us the normal sparking then connected a Leyden jar across the output terminals, widened the spark gap to about a foot, moved us all back a couple of feet then started turning the handle. After what seemed like an age there was an almighty crack and flash as the leyden Jar discharged across the wider gap. We were all impressed.
The technician also showed us that drawing a spark from the dome of the generator using one of your finger joints was less painful than using the tip of your finger, which most people do, as there are fewer nerve endings in the joint that your finger tip.
Enjoy your EMC generator!
Keith
