Interesting video on high voltage in a capacitor

[hazel1919]

Dear all,

Could someone help me understand what is happening in this video...



Does it have any application in science or industry?

Many thanks,

 

[Crazymechanic]

Well it's really hard to tell something from such a messy video but to me it looks like a very inefficient and very very funky electric motor.
Ok forgive my ignorance if I missed something.
There is a commutator some sparking some wires and that's all looks like a very simple analogy of dc brushed motor.

 

[hazel1919]

Interesting... I did not think of that.

The problem is that there are no magnets, no induction coils and the wires carry '50Kv' at very low currents according to the owner of the video.

The resin contains a 'capacitor', I.E is a large foil disk that is connected to 0v - gnd - and a thin wire that is connected to +50Kv.

Regards,

 

[nsaspook]

Electrostatic Motor

 

[jtbell]

Interesting... they go back to Benjamin Franklin, according to

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrostatic_motor

 

[CWatters]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Townsend_Brown

Brown discovered what was later called the Biefeld-Brown effect while experimenting with a Coolidge X-ray tube. This is a vacuum tube with two asymmetrical electrodes. Brown noticed that there was a force exerted by the tube when it was connected to a high-voltage source. This force was not caused by the X-rays, but instead was related to ionized particles created at the small (sharp) electrode and moving to the large (flatter) electrode.

Looks like a variant on the "lifter"...

 

[hazel1919]

Hi guys!

What an interesting wiki page! I was researching MEMS tech on a completely unrelated project and sure enough one of the primary applications of electrostatic motors is in MEMS.

So 'electrostatic motors' are the dual of magnet based motors. They rely on high voltages at low currents as opposed to the other way round in the electric motor.

What I found particularly interesting is this quote:

Also, the molecular machinery which runs living cells is often based on linear and rotary electrostatic motors.

So these things have real application in biomimetic nanotechnology as they are easy to manufacture relatively speaking (which is why nature uses it).

In essence our cell machinery (and therefore us) is powered by MEMS technology! Fascinating!

Coming back to the video in the OP... I suppose the only issue I have with it be an electrostatic motor in the conventional sense is the electrical layout or topology.

I've tried to draw just the wiring in the image attached so there is no structure, just the electrified bits. As you can see, the electrostatic motor to the right has a 'static part that is electrified and then the rotating part, while the setup in the video has no 'static' part to leverage against.

Which brings us to the thought that it is, as CWatters said, a 'lifter' variant. The issue here is the fact that the 'lifter' is encased in resin which should stop any ion displacement.

It is also, correct me if I am wrong, going in the opposite direction to what a lifter should...

 

[hazel1919]

Can I bump this thread?