Samson4
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If you run a wire from the outside surface of the dome to the inside of the same dome, would it be possible to make a spark to the inside surface of the same dome?
Can a Van De Graaff Generator Create Sparks Inside Its Dome?
- Context: High School
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With a conducting connection between the two parts? No. They will be at the same potential.
Samson4
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How come? The dome is at a higher potential than the belt that's charging it.
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Not at the point where the charges are extracted (neglecting the tiny resistances and current flow in the material).
Samson4
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How do you get a ground connection in the middle? If you take a cable out, it will charge.
Samson4
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I just didn't want to clutter the diagram; but yes, a cable is going outside the dome to ground.
I was always told that the inside of the dome is neutral or had no potential.
I was always told that the inside of the dome is neutral or had no potential.
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It has no electric field - unless you add a connection to ground. That's not the same as no potential (which does not exist anyway - a potential can be zero but it cannot be nonexistent).