Creating Your Own Homemade Electroscope

[TheQuietOne]

I want to make a electroscope but tried googling it and none made my criteria. What I want is a homemade electroscope that will give me a measurement, please tell what I would need and possibly a how to. Thank you

 

[anorlunda]

Do you mean a digital measurement? You could use a video camera to measure the separation of the leaves and use that as a measurement.

Do you mean a visual measurement? You could put a graduated scale (i.e. a ruler) behind the leafs) then view them from the side and see which gradations are hidden by the leaves.

 

[TheQuietOne]

OK but how do I convert that measurement into volts/ kilovolts?

 

[anorlunda]

Just like any analog instrument, you must run calibration tests. First apply a series of known voltages, and observe the displacement. Use that to plot a calibration curve that relates displacement to voltage.

 

[TheQuietOne]

Thank you, as you might have figured, I'm not very knowledgeableabout tthis stuff.
Sorry about the mumbo jumbo my phone is acting weird