Can an Electrostatic Fluid Accelerator inflate a balloon?

[smiddleton]

Hey guys,
I am trying out an idea. I want to see if I can make an electrostatic fluid accelerator inflate a balloon. Attached is an image of a concept I came up with that works a little differently. Before I dive in, I was wondering if anyone on the forum could tell me if my concept might or might not work. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[SlowThinker]

If the end is closed, where does the air come from? What exactly is the "fluid" you're planning to use?
How exactly are the electrodes made? Are they on the outer side of an isolated cylinder?
Are the electrodes powered by a constant voltage or are they pulsed? How many volts and amperes can you supply?

In short, I don't think it's going to do anything at all. In particular I don't see a point in using more than 2 electrodes.

 

[Nidum]

Might be difficult to get one to inflate a balloon but the principle of electrostatic air movers is well known :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrostatic_fluid_accelerator

 

[berkeman]

Might be difficult to get one to inflate a balloon but the principle of electrostatic air movers is well known :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrostatic_fluid_accelerator

Interesting. But from the article:

The basic principle has been understood for some time but only in recent years have seen developments in the design and manufacture of EFA devices that may allow them to find practical and economical applications, such as in micro-cooling of electronics components.

It seems like ionizing air to generate the air movement electrically and re-neutralizing the air before blowing it on electronic circuits would be risky. Seems like a good way to get ESD and Electrical Overstress issues introduced in the circuit (if the neutralization isn't real uniform and complete by the time the airstream hits the components)...

 

[Nidum]

Agreed - doesn't seem like a good thing to use for electronics cooling !

 

[smiddleton]

Thanks for the feedback. It's not for electronics cooling. It's an idea for compressing air. There would be air in the tube, the idea is to charge the air in the tube, then repel it into the balloon. If the tube was small in diameter, 1/4 inch, and there was one electrode at negative and one positive switching polarity, would that repel the air into the balloon?