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Joshua G

Page history last edited by Joshua Girard 13 years, 6 months ago

         

                                                                                                                                                         

     

 

      In  January o f 2 010, my science teacher assigned my class to do a science fair project. For this project, I decided to test different ground wires to see if the gauge of a wire had any effect on how far a static charge would jump to reach it. In order to complete this task, I first needed to build a device that could generate a strong enough static charg e.

               After much research online, I concluded that the best option that was available was to build a special kind of generator known as a Van De Graff Generator. In order to build it, I needed various materials. My dad took me to the home supply store where I selected the materials I would need.

They included; a solid base on which the generator could be built upon, some kind of housing for which the mechanics could be contained, a strong enough device that could be used to drive the mechanics, a metal dome for which the charge could be built up in, and the various mechanics that would be able to deliver the metal dome a continuous supply of a static electrical charge. These mechanics consisted of a nonconductive belt, electrical wiring, and two rollers for which the belt could turn upon.

For all these required materials I chose to use the following. For the base I used some leftover granite from when the kitchen was being constructed. For the housing I used some wide PVC sewer pipe. For the motor I used my dad’s old bench grinder. For the dome I took two of my mom’s metal mixing bowls. For the belt I took some felt. For the wiring I used bare copper wiring. And for the rollers I used two paint rollers with the handles cut off.

After I had gathered all the materials, I began to construct the generator. I took the granite base and placed it in the middle of my work area. Next I took the PVC pipe and went down to the garage where I carefully cut it down and made a small half-circle opening near the bottom. I then took that and mounted it to the granite base. For the next step, I needed to construct the inner mechanics. I mounted the two handle-less paint rollers to the top and bottom of the PVC pipe. Then I took the felt and cut and stitched it to the right length and shape and placed it over the two mounted rollers. Next I used the copper wiring to create two brush-like structures that would deposit the charge at the bottom and then collect it at the top. Then, I used a special tool to cut off the bottom of one of the mixing bowls. Afterwards, I soldered them together, let it dry, and placed it on top of the PVC pipe. Finally, I attached the bench grinder to the bottom paint roller.

After finishing up the final touches, such as connecting the ground wires in order to supply a charge to the bottom of the belt, I decided to test my device. Unfortunately, I did not think to have a grounding rod with me when I stated it for the first time.         

            I turned it on and then after 30 seconds turned it off. I had failed to remember that since my generator generates a static charge, it does not have to be on to release a charge if that charge hadn’t been grounded. I reached to grab something off the table when a massive bright blue spark leapt one and a half feet from the dome and straight to my outstretched hand.

            From then on I always had a grounding rod with me when I was operating the generator except of course when my I demonstrated it to my unsuspecting friend and science teacher. After the initial shock of being shocked had faded, my friends took turns shocking themselves and seeing how far the electricity could jump. When all of the girls arrived late, they were curious of what my machine did. They came near and what happened next was truly hilarious.

            After the science fair, I decided not to disassemble my generator despite the protests of my parents. I still have the generator in my room sitting peacefully on top of my safe. Occasionally, I still like to power it up to see how it works on to demonstrate to new victims.

            One person who helped me to collect and compile the list of the required materials was my dad. Without his general knowledge of science and basic electronics, it could have taken me twice as long to figure out what I needed to construct my project.

 

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Comments (4)

ndeitch said

at 7:11 pm on Sep 20, 2010

Josh, your story is filled with detail, although there are a few grammatical errors. The thing I think you need to do most is make sure that the part where everybody started shocking themselves in your class is really emphasized. This would make the story a lot more exciting.

Michael Delay said

at 7:56 pm on Sep 21, 2010

very good some graamar issues

Peter said

at 10:34 pm on Sep 21, 2010

Very well described, and a lot of detail!

Natassja said

at 11:13 pm on Sep 21, 2010

I really liked your story...we used one of those in my science class last year, and it would be really cool to construct one out of different objects like you did. I was not shocked, but a few of my friends decided to be shocked and I know what you were talking about when you said a blue line of energy. That must have been really surprising. The detail was really good and the story was interesting from beginning to end.

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