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The title says it all: this blog features physics videos found everywhere on the web: animations, demonstrations, lectures, documentaries.
Please go here if you want to suggest other nice physics videos, and here if I mistakingly infringed your copyrights. If you understand French, you'll find a huge selection of physics videos in French in my other blog Vidéos de Physique.

Saturday, 19 October 2013

The Wimshurst Machine

A Wimshurst electrostatic generator, working on the principle of induction, generates high voltage differences and sparks between two movable electrodes.   By increasing the distance between the electrodes, higher potential differences can be built up.

Electrostatic induction refers to the principle that charges in an object (especially a conductor) redistribute themselves in the presence of nearby charges. Opposite charges are attracted to each other, while similar charges are repelled. Larger charges can be stored by connecting the knobs to Leyden jars which are component parts of the machine.

 

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