User:Kmcgiver0970/staticelectricity

Write problem/project Goal
Build an electrostatic generator. Using static electricity harnessed from this generator, make an aluminum triangle levitate.

My First Task
Learn about how electrostatic generators work and look into different options of building one.

Summary of actual work over first weekend
There are a lot more static electricity generators than I had originally anticipated. The two that seem to be most relevant to this particular project are the Wimshurst machine and the Bonetti machine. Although similar machines, there are a few differences.

Week1 Narrative
Over the weekend, I learned a lot about electrostatic generators and how the Wimshurst and Bonetti models produce static electricity. As far as construction goes, the Wimshurst machine seems to be slightly more difficult to build and there is more voltage leakage involved with this machine. On the other hand, the Wimshurst machine is self starting, while the Bonetti machine is not.

I found a tutorial on how to build a Wimshurst machine online, found here.

I also found a great general explination of the physics behind the Wimshurst machine, found here.

My Second Task
Browse youtube and make a ranked list of interesting experiments involving a Wimshurst machine.

Summary of actual work over second weekend
Youtube doesn't have as many experiments involving electrostatic generators as I thought it would. There are a lot of videos, but the concepts start to get repetitive. I was able to find 10 interesting experiments.

Week2 Narrative
The ten experiments I chose are:

Wimshurst and PET bottle motor

Dancing Balls

Wimshurst Fluorescent Tube

Ball Cyclotron

Spinning CD

Electrostatic Pendulum

Wimshurst Machine and a Conductive Ping Pong Ball

Hand-Cranked X-ray Machine

Asymmetrical Capacitor Thrusters powered by a Wimshurst Machine

Triangle Lifter 2

My Third task
This weekend I will pick my top three favorite videos and start to make a materials list for them.

Summary of actual work over third weekend
There were not specific material lists for any of the youtube demonstrations. I documented the materials I could see and organized them below.

Week3 Narrative
The three projects I chose were:

* PET bottle x 3 * Aluminum foil tape * Metal rod, so the PET bottle can spin * A piece of wood, for the base * Chains x 2
 * 1) Wimshurst PET Bottle Motor experiment

* Aluminum plate x 2 * A small acrylic chamber similar to any of these * Styrofoam * Aluminum foil * Wood, for the base
 * 1) Dancing Balls experiment

* Aluminum foil * Large toothpick x 3
 * 1) Triangle Lifter experiment

My Fourth task
Begin construction of the Wimshurst PET Bottle Motor experiment.

Summary of actual work over fourth weekend
The final product of the PET bottle motor ended up being a lot different then how I originally planned to build it. Through trial and error and this tutorial I built the PET bottle motor. I created a better tutorial and posted it on the team page.

Week4 Narrative
This weekend I built a PET bottle motor for the PET bottle motor experiment:

'''Materials used '''Step 1 '''Step 2 '''Step 3 '''Step 4 '''Step 5 '''Step 6 '''Step 7 '''Step 8 '''Step 9 '''Step 10 '''Step 11 '''Step 12 ,

Complete Team Page
Team Page