When I was a mad scientist teenager I wanted to build a van de Graaf generator, but I couldn't source all the needed stuff - this was in the mid 1970s. But I built a Tesla coil instead and managed to jam TV and radio in every direction for about a mile. Mission accomplished! Actually I liked to just watch and play with the discharge... I ended up as a theoretical physicist.
Wow this was super well done. The garden gazing ball was brilliant. Back when I was first getting started with science the stupid top load was always the thing preventing me from building a van de graff generator myself. The hang spun balls sold specifically for this just cost too much. But those gazing balls are dirt cheap! Suddenly the idea of building that particle accelerator isn't so far fetched.
Hey T.E., thanks for the compliments. Yeah, the gazing ball is a great option. Just be prepared for hours of dremel work to get the right fit at the base. It took me nearly 2-3 hours to get the right fit. I honestly love Van De Graaff generators now. I had the same issue growing up!
Built one about 3 foot tall back in the 80's and used aluminium for the bottom roller and Teflon for the top and a black 2" wide rubber belt. It easily produced 12" sparks and still runs 30+ years later.
When psychics experiment are done by an artist you get these types of master pieces which do physics and are beautiful to look at. Wonderful experiment as always.
I told her that she'd be needed for both an experiment, AND to literally boost my video haha. She's not one to be on camera and is shy...so it took some convincing.
@@PlasmaChannel i would be happy with 1 inch sparks, even with 1 cm sparks! bcus i tried to build this 2 times and the fist time i got sparks of half a centimeter, and when i try a new one now, i get nothing at all...
I am soooooo excited finding your channel last night. I work as a technician in a university physics department so have access to what’s needed to build this… our students will love future projects now. You, sir are an Angel ✨💕
This is the most difficult project I have ever attempted. I have been building mine for over a year primarily because the belt keeps drifting. Every time I make a change to keep it centered something else goes wrong. The two times it has worked consistently produced great sparks so that keeps me motivated. Hopefully your video will help solve some of my problems.
All of your builds are really great, I always find them astonishingly good. I built most of your projects and your channel was actually the thing that got me into these electric builds. Keep up the good work!
Turned out beautiful! I agree, I don't like to glue things either. Tapping the acrylic to accept screws is working well for me. Thanks for making the 3D printer files available for patreons, that's a nice perk.
You always go beyond the minimum standards whenever it comes to building DIY projects... That's what makes you stand out from others! More power to you, sir👍💪
Awesome build Jay as always. A bit late to the video, but I was lurking/following the progress on Patreon. Well worth the wait! And cool that you included the 3d print files for Patrons. Now another project to build, such problems... Sometimes life is awesome, lol. Keep it up man!
I like the garden globe idea. My build from a few years back used the standard IKEA bowls and there is leakage from the (taped) seam. One thing I used that really made a huge difference was the brush. I had some nickel metal cloth that had unbelievably fine metal fibers. The change in the output from screen to the cloth was very significant. Cheers.
I built a van de graaf generator years ago with an aluminum can and a spool of thread and barely worked, but it did function, but without a proper housing, it quickly broke down
So cool Jay! I made a similar Van de Graaff generator but it was made of Lego and some cheaper materials and I won first place on an international experimental physics competition, so now they have called me to write a paper on it and it will be published soon. Also I was called on another European competition and I will be making the Genesis Tesla Coil! Also I am a great fan of you!
Nice job! If you wrap wool around the bottom roller it increases surface area which enhances charge rate. For the sphere, I always had trouble with bleed-off around the cut edges. Electrical tape didn’t really work as well as I hoped. The best way I found to increase the voltage potential is to take a silicone air tube for fish tanks and cut a slit lengthwise and slip it over the cut edge of the sphere. I tried just resting it on a ring like you did, but It didn’t really help. With the edges better covered, the sparks were much more powerful in my case.
Thanks man! Glad you enjoyed my take on the video. As for the tubing...whoa...cool idea. I have a corona ring that is 1/2" diameter steel, but, have not had the time to fit it on yet. I'll try both your idea and the ring.
When I was a kid, I worked out exactly how to make a static generator with a vinyl record. The only motor I had access to though, was a hard drive motor, which it turns out is some kind of stepper motor, which I didn't know how to drive. So I never ended up making it, but I had a record, the motor, and some other components sitting in my closet waiting for me to figure out how to make that motor work for almost a decade. I don't have that stuff anymore, but I'm sure I can find a vinyl record, and I have some engineering knowledge as well. I also have access to motors that are easier to use, _and_ I've learned how to control stepper motors. Maybe I'll do this project I wanted to do as a kid with my own kids!
I'm 55.. Holy hell I'm old. One minute it's 1986 and the world is your oyster. Enlisted in the Marines and the next thing I know, it's 2023. I hurt myself while sleeping and I live in a 123 year old house that needs work...lots of it. Thanks for your videos. They are quite educational and have given me ideas for some fun projects. I'll probably just end up hurting myself, which will piss off my wife. Which will most likely result in me getting in trouble. But, ya know? It's a process.
Whoosh, 💥 the video we’ve been anticipating. Absolutely fantastic piece of equipment that we all have fond memories of from school. Wow you’ve gone all out on this one, it’s not only functional but a work of art. Thanks also to Jasper for the 3D print. Hey, maybe your nephew might even be the new Jay one day. A brilliant job, thanks for creating and sharing this. 👍 from Wales 🏴.
Roger, thanks for being so supportive. You'd be amazed - i'm at 200k subs, and get a lot of comments every single day of the week. But it's really nice comments like this that really boost my motivation as a creator. Thanks for being here to enjoy what I have to share.
Honestly, I don't think you really need the Rollers. If you rub a Disk of Teflon against a Disk of Glass. Place Metallic Grid on top of the Teflon Disk and attach your Wire that goes to the Capacitor. Make sure the Glass Disk spins while the Teflon remains stationary. In case anyone is wondering, I majored Electrical in High School. I was the first Student to put together a working Van De Graph Generator for my Senior Project.
The spark hit your face because its reciprocating all the love you are showing for high intensity sparks....(jokes apart, I haven't seen such a neat ,precise, meticulous and impressive van de graf generator before. This is just great)
I tried using a pulse width modulator for speed control on mine and once it built up a charge the PWM was toast. I finally got an old fashioned wire wound ceramic rheostat and it worked great. I love Van De Graaff generators. I gave up on hall effect sensors and transistors around HV if I want it to work. Very nice build Jay. I wish you had spent more time showing it off. Besides acrylic is so cool.
Yeah, JUST killed the speed controller at the end of the video, when I showed the last sparks on my arm before the end. There are ways to electrically isolate the board though, and im working on that. Thanks!
I'd agree. 202,000 subs, this video has been requested by hundreds of my subs for over a year....and only 8,000 views in the first day. That means only 4% of my sub base watched it. That makes no sense.
*@Plasma Channel* 0:52 You should put rounded metal-things (tubes?) along the 3 edges of that net, to reduce the energy loss that is bleeding off into the air from all those pointy edges that the wires make.
While rubbing specific materials charging them is possible, the van de graff generator works on the principle of charging by induction and not by friction. The genrator you built is fantastic.
Here's an idea: make the bottom roller made of metal and ground it. Then, use the positive output from that DC flyback HV supply you made as the bottom comb. This will spray electrons onto the belt and everything will work exactly as before; however, I bet the output would be significantly better... What I'm describing is the most popular mode of operation that this machine was actually used for particle accelerators and other applications. Just be careful at that point, though: the output probably won't be safe to touch...
Thank you for that input. I actually intended to make it a charged base - and did some tests but failed to succeed, so scrapped the idea. I'll give it a go with a grounded lower roller - we'll see how that works. Just wish Al was further away on the triboelectric chart....
man how much time i wasted on mine, it ended up making like 12cm sparks (when super happy) and yes, i'm using a thin blue belt and i washed the talc powder away with water (soap kills it)... also it doesn't like humidity, i have to heat the pipe up with an hair dryer before turning it on... yours is awesome!!!
Very cool as always. As a child I went to the Toronto Museum of Science a few different times One time they selected me to go up and put my hand on the large meatal ball. I had long hair at the time and I got a big laugh from everyone. I never got a picture that day. At least I know now what it was called. Thanks for sharing. This one I should try to build myself looks fun...
I unpacked a new fridge last week, after pulling of the top styrofoam on top I came close and got zapped hard. Amazing how you can keep getting shocked without getting really nervous around that contraption.
Hey Matthew! Thanks, these are now my favorite form of high voltage. Safe, touchable, and very useful. All the other forms of HV are generally unsafe - too much current.
Sorry for such a long wait time for me to see your video. I've had 312 videos in my watch later because I've been working. So I just barely got to your video. This was an amazing build and I love it I just love it. I love the comedy you put in the videos you make. And I also love that you show the headaches on making this kind of stuff. There isn't much more to say about this. Other than it was amazing! Keep it up Jay! :)
I was the proud owner of a Victorian era high voltage generator when I was just 10 years old. Got it in a playground swap for a penknife. Best fun I had, shocking unaware kids for kicks.
Interesting fact is that such a generators gives you usually about a hundred(s) thousand volts and the current in that sparks rises up to several dozens of amps that considered absolutely lethal. BUT the time it acts so short (nanoseconds) that any damage just doesn't have time to happen.
Your builds have very high quality, I tried to build my own van de graff and it looks like it will fall apart if I touch it and it uses a gallon of glue and a thousand tries to get right.
I've built lots of Van De Graaff Generators over the years... big ones and small ones. I built one in High school that produced nearly 2 foot long sparks... But, I've always had issues (due to poor engineering) about belt alignment and tracking. Most of my machines end up running the belts on the edges of their rollers or the belts go all over the place and wear out quickly. Usually this is because in all of my designs I've put the bottom roller directly on the motor shaft so it tends to cantilever up at an angle when the belt is on it.... But I need to be able to change the belts easily.. Looking at your design I can't see how you get the belt on and off... at least not without completely disassembling the bearings... Perhaps if I engineered mine better then I wouldn't need to change belts so frequently... but I still think the belt should be an easily replaceable item. Am I missing something in your design on how the rollers go on?
If "electrons" were in fact cavitation bubbles caused by the violently spinning nucleus I would argue that what you are really doing is increasing the spin of the nuclei causing an access of bubbles in the atomic structure. This makes way more sense than any magical affect.
I don't know if the rollers have slipping to one side issues with the rubber band. You should try egg shaped rollers and rubber not so broad. The egg shape forces rubber band to stay centred. Only trying to help. Love the channel and your work. 😁
Try putting some empty aluminium foil containers over that ball. It'll be fun to see them flying off one by one. Idea for a future video :- How about a portable mini high voltage device, something like connected to a metal glove that one can wear which can shoot sparks in air. I just want to scare off my neighbor dogs.🤣🤣🤣 Btw, awesome viddy as always. Everything is so beautifully & aesthetically built. Beautiful & dangerous.
Tarun my man, thanks a ton brother. I'll consider that build, it's been on my list for a while, to make a pocket HV source that is safe. I appreciate your support. What country / state are you from, BTW?
i saw multiple designs where the top roller is static and doesn't move. Would that improve the output due to more friction? Also: Are those the best materials or how would i be able to find better ones? Is there some kind of value i can search for? And is there a way to minimize the current but keep the voltage? for example topload shape? i'd very much like to build my own version but don't have enough budget to try out lots of designs / materials so i'd like to get the best experience i can for as little as possible.
The top roller has to rotate as friction here could lead to belt failure. The charge is built up in the lower roller by contact and separation- it doesn't actually need friction between the roller and belt for the charge, just enough to make sure that the roller drives the belt. The top load should be spherical if possible, with a smooth surface. Any seams or projections will reduce the voltage attainable. Sorry it's taken 10 months for this reply as I have only just found this channel.
@@MervynPartin Hahaha, didn't expect to get an answer to that comment, especially after such a while ^^ Yeah that makes sense and i know about the voltage loss due to corona discharge, i was just wondering why people tend to use spherical toploads for Van-de-Graaff generators and toroidal ones for tesla coils. Thanks nonetheless for the reply and welcome to the channel ^^
It’s very clear that you are an Artist of Science and this is the key to your success my friend. I appreciate your quality builds and clean, clear instructions. A true teacher of our time for the ability to transfer knowledge and understanding to others. Thank you for your time and energy you put into your videos. I’ve always been a person that wants to ‘make things better’. Whether it was cheering someone up or being a father to children whose dads weren’t ready. Science stuff is no different and I was wondering if you could increase your spark strength by adding aluminum foil or something similar? 🤔
Your comment is much appreciated. I strive to create the highest quality videos I possibly can. I'm....trying to relax my grip a bit on the "perfectness" of my videos, but glad you enjoy my style. Adding aluminum foil to which part? Adding it to the ground plate, yes it would help with spark length.
What about foil on the belt? Or maybe a salt water solution on the belt? 🤔 just some ideas. I have some interesting stuff that you might be able to do some kewl stuff with using nano carbon. Similar to Graphene but with many thousands of layers. I’ve built several things over the last few years and I’ve come to the point of adding high voltage into the mix. I’m actually kinda terrified of high voltage and I could have been hit by lightning in another life 🤣. I’ve been watching your videos to help me get a better understanding of how to do things right. My HV is coming from two neon sign transformers and an Arc Welder. So yeah, I am trying not to fry stuff. 😎🤔
I'm really happy you become more open in front of the camera and gives good vibes. And I always learn something new from you. If those weren't so much expensive lol.
i made one of these a few years ago out of pvc about 2 times bigger and use a blue plastic 55 gallon drum as a capacitor by lining the inside with aluminum the outside it made over 2 million volts the loudest discharges i have ever heard try it out insane!!!!!
@@christophercridlebaugh8965 sounds insane. Do you have a video? What size teflon rods did you use? I assume the bottom rollet was nylon also? I can't seem to find large excersize belts anywhere? The biggest ones are about this size of this video.
Jay this Van de Graaf is fantastic, super clean built, and good power! I think it would be good, if you cover the edge of the sphere with for example electrical tape, than the voltage get higher ;) (bacause of corona discharges) Haha love it!
Hey Leon! Thanks, I wanted to build a high quality one for a while now. As for the corona leakage, I actually have a corona ring that i'll be putting on the base of the sphere soon.
Awesome implementation! One small correction: Tribo-electric effect is charge transfer that occurs when certain dissimilar materials separate, after being in contact with one another.
Hey, to increase the output even more you could tape around the sharp points of the steels meshes, since some charges might be flying off. Amazing video btw!
Yeah, I actually ordered a special corona ring that was supposed to go around the base of the sphere. But...it was just a HAIR too narrow, and would not slide over the tube. Long story short, after a couple hours of dremel grinding to get it to fit, I gave up. I plan on doing a followup video where I supercharge the thing.
Whoa, seriously? That's insane! You know, I plan on doing givaways to my first 100 subs soon. I'll check the records, and if you're one of the first 100, you'll be considered.
That was some mean looking sparks!!! I cannot say how many time I have been shocked!!! Being both a Telecom Master technician and Electrician Shocks are a cost of doing the work. That said, Respect for what ions can do is required. Study well and practice. I am retired and still alive so I must have done something right. I also teach! But I don't just tell someone about a subject but the why behind it. I really enjoy sharing my knowledge and experiences with others!!!
Finally someone made a VdG that charges themselves up with healthy negative electrons, instead of the usual, depleting themselves of negative electrons with a positive charge VdG. Have you tried staying connected to it for prolonged periods ?
The quality of your products is always astonishing! Puts my quick low quality doohickeys to shame!
My man, thanks a ton. Your builds look more fun to watch though, and I enjoy every one of them. I mean, that wand was legit.
I think it is not his quality, but his safety
But... your builds have such character!
Same for me!
my two fav plasma/electrical channel who inspired me to take electrical engineering course interacting with each other. much love
When I was a mad scientist teenager I wanted to build a van de Graaf generator, but I couldn't source all the needed stuff - this was in the mid 1970s. But I built a Tesla coil instead and managed to jam TV and radio in every direction for about a mile. Mission accomplished! Actually I liked to just watch and play with the discharge... I ended up as a theoretical physicist.
Wow this was super well done. The garden gazing ball was brilliant. Back when I was first getting started with science the stupid top load was always the thing preventing me from building a van de graff generator myself. The hang spun balls sold specifically for this just cost too much. But those gazing balls are dirt cheap! Suddenly the idea of building that particle accelerator isn't so far fetched.
Hey T.E., thanks for the compliments. Yeah, the gazing ball is a great option. Just be prepared for hours of dremel work to get the right fit at the base. It took me nearly 2-3 hours to get the right fit. I honestly love Van De Graaff generators now. I had the same issue growing up!
@@PlasmaChannel isn't that stainless steel?
Wouldn't it be better to use aluminum on the top load because its more conductive?
@@helpabrothawithasubisaiah5316 they can always electroplate it with copper
I'm also using garden gazing balls. Cheap but almost perfect for the job, although a toroidal shape is better.
@@helpabrothawithasubisaiah5316 No, any metal is a good enough conductor.
Built one about 3 foot tall back in the 80's and used aluminium for the bottom roller and Teflon for the top and a black 2" wide rubber belt. It easily produced 12" sparks and still runs 30+ years later.
So its 32+ years later now.
Care to show it off? :D
I remember when the channel had only 10k subs, now it's already at 200k.
Great job, love your videos and projects !
Thanks Ryan. Really appreciate you for sticking with me like this!
When psychics experiment are done by an artist you get these types of master pieces which do physics and are beautiful to look at.
Wonderful experiment as always.
Audience retention love the honesty lol.
I told her that she'd be needed for both an experiment, AND to literally boost my video haha. She's not one to be on camera and is shy...so it took some convincing.
I literally was going to say the same thing in a comment when he said that in the video, lol
Audience retention could have been boosted 96% if the camera angle was elevated -15°. 🧐🤔😎😁
@@djcbanks stfu
@@PlasmaChannel i would be happy with 1 inch sparks, even with 1 cm sparks! bcus i tried to build this 2 times and the fist time i got sparks of half a centimeter, and when i try a new one now, i get nothing at all...
I am soooooo excited finding your channel last night. I work as a technician in a university physics department so have access to what’s needed to build this… our students will love future projects now. You, sir are an Angel ✨💕
This is the most difficult project I have ever attempted. I have been building mine for over a year primarily because the belt keeps drifting. Every time I make a change to keep it centered something else goes wrong. The two times it has worked consistently produced great sparks so that keeps me motivated. Hopefully your video will help solve some of my problems.
Hi Michael. Take a look at my rollers. You need to chamber the ends. That keeps the belt always centered. This will solve all your issues.
That's what i have waiting for ! 🙌
Red goes faster.... WAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!
Flash gits are real.
All Mekboyz know that...
Beautiful build Jay, and spot on with the audience retention 😉😁👍
Thanks Grandad. It was fun to build- they really are fun to play with. Glad you liked her :P
All of your builds are really great, I always find them astonishingly good. I built most of your projects and your channel was actually the thing that got me into these electric builds. Keep up the good work!
Turned out beautiful! I agree, I don't like to glue things either. Tapping the acrylic to accept screws is working well for me. Thanks for making the 3D printer files available for patreons, that's a nice perk.
Tomorrow, i'll post the files to Patreon, for the top two tiers, plus you of course :P
After long gap Jay back with a bang🔥
5:15
It's super cool how it raises then flattens your arm hairs as it gains and discharges voltage!
You always go beyond the minimum standards whenever it comes to building DIY projects... That's what makes you stand out from others!
More power to you, sir👍💪
Thanks! I’m naturally a perfectionist, so comes with the territory.
@@PlasmaChannel wow what you say is what I really see in your performance, sir. You're definitely the real deal😄
Nice!!!! Gotta go... and build me one of those! Thanks for the inspiration!
Go for it, seriously! One of the most fun things you can mess with.
be careful to not blow your brains out ;)
Cool as always, what I love about high voltage is to see electrokinetic phenomena.
Awesome build Jay as always.
A bit late to the video, but I was lurking/following the progress on Patreon.
Well worth the wait! And cool that you included the 3d print files for Patrons.
Now another project to build, such problems... Sometimes life is awesome, lol.
Keep it up man!
Hey justin! Thanks for stopping by, and glad you enjoyed the build. I’m actually adding to it, it found it can be much more powerful.
I like the garden globe idea. My build from a few years back used the standard IKEA bowls and there is leakage from the (taped) seam. One thing I used that really made a huge difference was the brush. I had some nickel metal cloth that had unbelievably fine metal fibers. The change in the output from screen to the cloth was very significant.
Cheers.
I am looking for that cloth? any link?
Look up metal gauze, you can get many different thicknesses and materiels @@izzyizzm8761
When I was a kid I had a plastic model generator. It was about 12 inches tall, was hand cranked and gave 3 inch sparks.
I built a van de graaf generator years ago with an aluminum can and a spool of thread and barely worked, but it did function, but without a proper housing, it quickly broke down
I finished mine today,but need some adjustment .
Thank you Jay,you are my inspiration.
Hi Julio, i'm honored to be an inspiration of yours.
So cool Jay! I made a similar Van de Graaff generator but it was made of Lego and some cheaper materials and I won first place on an international experimental physics competition, so now they have called me to write a paper on it and it will be published soon. Also I was called on another European competition and I will be making the Genesis Tesla Coil! Also I am a great fan of you!
This is really cool. Do you have any pictures to share? Please feel free to email me (under the "about" tab, on my channel page)
Nice job! If you wrap wool around the bottom roller it increases surface area which enhances charge rate. For the sphere, I always had trouble with bleed-off around the cut edges. Electrical tape didn’t really work as well as I hoped. The best way I found to increase the voltage potential is to take a silicone air tube for fish tanks and cut a slit lengthwise and slip it over the cut edge of the sphere. I tried just resting it on a ring like you did, but It didn’t really help. With the edges better covered, the sparks were much more powerful in my case.
Thanks man! Glad you enjoyed my take on the video. As for the tubing...whoa...cool idea. I have a corona ring that is 1/2" diameter steel, but, have not had the time to fit it on yet. I'll try both your idea and the ring.
When I was a kid, I worked out exactly how to make a static generator with a vinyl record. The only motor I had access to though, was a hard drive motor, which it turns out is some kind of stepper motor, which I didn't know how to drive. So I never ended up making it, but I had a record, the motor, and some other components sitting in my closet waiting for me to figure out how to make that motor work for almost a decade.
I don't have that stuff anymore, but I'm sure I can find a vinyl record, and I have some engineering knowledge as well. I also have access to motors that are easier to use, _and_ I've learned how to control stepper motors. Maybe I'll do this project I wanted to do as a kid with my own kids!
I'm 55.. Holy hell I'm old. One minute it's 1986 and the world is your oyster. Enlisted in the Marines and the next thing I know, it's 2023. I hurt myself while sleeping and I live in a 123 year old house that needs work...lots of it.
Thanks for your videos. They are quite educational and have given me ideas for some fun projects. I'll probably just end up hurting myself, which will piss off my wife. Which will most likely result in me getting in trouble. But, ya know? It's a process.
Plasma Channel is the bset acryl Channel on all of TH-cam!!!
Whoosh, 💥 the video we’ve been anticipating. Absolutely fantastic piece of equipment that we all have fond memories of from school. Wow you’ve gone all out on this one, it’s not only functional but a work of art. Thanks also to Jasper for the 3D print. Hey, maybe your nephew might even be the new Jay one day. A brilliant job, thanks for creating and sharing this. 👍 from Wales 🏴.
Roger, thanks for being so supportive. You'd be amazed - i'm at 200k subs, and get a lot of comments every single day of the week. But it's really nice comments like this that really boost my motivation as a creator. Thanks for being here to enjoy what I have to share.
That was the first explanation of how it actually works I understood well enough that I've a chance of remembering it. Nice machine, dude.
I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
Van se Graff sparked you for plasma and you sparked me for plasma.
THANKS A LOT JAY
Shockingly superb !
Honestly, I don't think you really need the Rollers.
If you rub a Disk of Teflon against a Disk of Glass.
Place Metallic Grid on top of the Teflon Disk and attach your Wire that goes to the Capacitor.
Make sure the Glass Disk spins while the Teflon remains stationary.
In case anyone is wondering, I majored Electrical in High School.
I was the first Student to put together a working Van De Graph Generator for my Senior Project.
I always learn from and enjoy watching your videos.
It’d be great to see the Wolf as a kit. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge.
Haha, trust me, I am building a website with the goal of selling kits. WORKING ON IT.
This is great. Can't wait to get one built!
I for one, appreciate the audience retention. Good thinking!
The spark hit your face because its reciprocating all the love you are showing for high intensity sparks....(jokes apart, I haven't seen such a neat ,precise, meticulous and impressive van de graf generator before. This is just great)
Thank you so much. I put way too much effort into the build lol. (Starts crying softly)
I tried using a pulse width modulator for speed control on mine and once it built up a charge the PWM was toast. I finally got an old fashioned wire wound ceramic rheostat and it worked great. I love Van De Graaff generators. I gave up on hall effect sensors and transistors around HV if I want it to work. Very nice build Jay. I wish you had spent more time showing it off. Besides acrylic is so cool.
Yeah, JUST killed the speed controller at the end of the video, when I showed the last sparks on my arm before the end. There are ways to electrically isolate the board though, and im working on that. Thanks!
I think this guys is getting shafted by the youtube. This should have more views than it's got.
I'd agree. 202,000 subs, this video has been requested by hundreds of my subs for over a year....and only 8,000 views in the first day. That means only 4% of my sub base watched it. That makes no sense.
Looking forward to make my own!
Dope
Who needs a battery, it'd be cool to make a clockwork one!
*@Plasma Channel*
0:52 You should put rounded metal-things (tubes?) along the 3 edges of that net, to reduce the energy loss that is bleeding off into the air from all those pointy edges that the wires make.
Hmmm I'm not familiar with this technique. I'll look into it. Thank you.
While rubbing specific materials charging them is possible, the van de graff generator works on the principle of charging by induction and not by friction. The genrator you built is fantastic.
Here's an idea: make the bottom roller made of metal and ground it. Then, use the positive output from that DC flyback HV supply you made as the bottom comb. This will spray electrons onto the belt and everything will work exactly as before; however, I bet the output would be significantly better... What I'm describing is the most popular mode of operation that this machine was actually used for particle accelerators and other applications. Just be careful at that point, though: the output probably won't be safe to touch...
Thank you for that input. I actually intended to make it a charged base - and did some tests but failed to succeed, so scrapped the idea. I'll give it a go with a grounded lower roller - we'll see how that works. Just wish Al was further away on the triboelectric chart....
man how much time i wasted on mine, it ended up making like 12cm sparks (when super happy) and yes, i'm using a thin blue belt and i washed the talc powder away with water (soap kills it)... also it doesn't like humidity, i have to heat the pipe up with an hair dryer before turning it on... yours is awesome!!!
You must live in a humid area? Yeah, if you include heating elements in the base of the tube, it will be an easy permanent fix for that humidity.
@@PlasmaChannel i dunno, it must be my house... anyways i just need like 30 secs of hairdrying and it's ready
Very cool as always. As a child I went to the Toronto Museum of Science a few different times One time they selected me to go up and put my hand on the large meatal ball. I had long hair at the time and I got a big laugh from everyone. I never got a picture that day. At least I know now what it was called. Thanks for sharing. This one I should try to build myself looks fun...
Hi Marc, thanks for sharing that story. That's really cool. Try making one, they really are some of the coolest things you can build
I knew you would do this when i saw on your Instagram. Awesome project!
Yea, indeed, all those little teasers on Instagram. 😀
Haha, glad you guys enjoy my teasers. You'll LOVE what i'm cooking up next.
@@PlasmaChannel - ha, looking forward to it Jay! 🤔
I always wanted to build this 🤩
Great video mate. I remember a Van De Graaff of about this size when I was in High school. Lots of fun back then with it.
The one at the Museum of Science in Boston is the real wolf. It is twin generators, each 30 feet tall, and was used by MIT as a particle accelerator.
That one is linked in the video description, actually. It's where I got the clips of a kite being hit. I love that one.
I unpacked a new fridge last week, after pulling of the top styrofoam on top I came close and got zapped hard. Amazing how you can keep getting shocked without getting really nervous around that contraption.
Your acrylic disk designs are just so fancy, wish I could build things as elegant as you do, haha.
😊 thank you
Love the generator would definitely like to try to build one
Definitely going to be building that one Jay...... Supercool and fits exactly with my research.... Thank you
Hey Matthew! Thanks, these are now my favorite form of high voltage. Safe, touchable, and very useful. All the other forms of HV are generally unsafe - too much current.
As a former machinist, this is an admirable build. Well done.
Finally got my first tesla coil the other day. Next project is an ultrasonic gun.
Oh, thank you. That means a lot dude.
Sorry for such a long wait time for me to see your video. I've had 312 videos in my watch later because I've been working. So I just barely got to your video.
This was an amazing build and I love it I just love it. I love the comedy you put in the videos you make. And I also love that you show the headaches on making this kind of stuff.
There isn't much more to say about this. Other than it was amazing! Keep it up Jay! :)
Thanks SA! I’m literally obsessed with this thing. I’m using to make a REALLY cool product for my next video. Stay tuned... it’s really cool.
@@PlasmaChannel Oooo! I can't wait!!! :)
Amazing! I want to sometime build one of those
I was the proud owner of a Victorian era high voltage generator when I was just 10 years old. Got it in a playground swap for a penknife. Best fun I had, shocking unaware kids for kicks.
Audience retention FTW! Another great project Jay. Love the videos.
Hahaha thanks!
Interesting fact is that such a generators gives you usually about a hundred(s) thousand volts and the current in that sparks rises up to several dozens of amps that considered absolutely lethal. BUT the time it acts so short (nanoseconds) that any damage just doesn't have time to happen.
This is some museum quality build
Your builds have very high quality, I tried to build my own van de graff and it looks like it will fall apart if I touch it and it uses a gallon of glue and a thousand tries to get right.
I've built lots of Van De Graaff Generators over the years... big ones and small ones. I built one in High school that produced nearly 2 foot long sparks... But, I've always had issues (due to poor engineering) about belt alignment and tracking. Most of my machines end up running the belts on the edges of their rollers or the belts go all over the place and wear out quickly. Usually this is because in all of my designs I've put the bottom roller directly on the motor shaft so it tends to cantilever up at an angle when the belt is on it.... But I need to be able to change the belts easily.. Looking at your design I can't see how you get the belt on and off... at least not without completely disassembling the bearings...
Perhaps if I engineered mine better then I wouldn't need to change belts so frequently... but I still think the belt should be an easily replaceable item. Am I missing something in your design on how the rollers go on?
Watched this video when It came out, and now again that Hackaday featured it. Hope it boosts your views and subs. Great content!
Ah thanks Steve. For some reason the video flopped. Wasn’t a topic people cared for I guess.
Another good video, wish more kids would watch this channel. Nice work.
Thanks Micheal. You can help by sharing my video - so more kiddos could see physics.
Grew up visiting the one in Boston. Never got old.
Biggest one on the planet!
@@PlasmaChannel So far...😁
Welp you look calm where as I remember elctroboom :D
Jay when he gets shocked: Yeaaaah whoo!
Electroboom when he gets shocked: OOOOWWWWWW SH** ******
I bought one of these, it is fascinating
I got to play with a van de graaff a while back in physics...was awesome :)
Beautiful design! ❤️
I love these things 😂
Thank you! 😊
I never thought of you as a Warhammer 40k Fan. but I love the hint.
If "electrons" were in fact cavitation bubbles caused by the violently spinning nucleus I would argue that what you are really doing is increasing the spin of the nuclei causing an access of bubbles in the atomic structure. This makes way more sense than any magical affect.
I don't know if the rollers have slipping to one side issues with the rubber band.
You should try egg shaped rollers and rubber not so broad.
The egg shape forces rubber band to stay centred.
Only trying to help.
Love the channel and your work.
😁
You’ll notice I beveled the edges of my rollers. This keeps the belt perfectly centered. Thanks for your comment and compliments. Cheers!
Try putting some empty aluminium foil containers over that ball. It'll be fun to see them flying off one by one.
Idea for a future video :-
How about a portable mini high voltage device, something like connected to a metal glove that one can wear which can shoot sparks in air. I just want to scare off my neighbor dogs.🤣🤣🤣
Btw, awesome viddy as always. Everything is so beautifully & aesthetically built. Beautiful & dangerous.
Tarun my man, thanks a ton brother. I'll consider that build, it's been on my list for a while, to make a pocket HV source that is safe.
I appreciate your support. What country / state are you from, BTW?
@@PlasmaChannel I'm from Delhi, India.
i saw multiple designs where the top roller is static and doesn't move. Would that improve the output due to more friction?
Also: Are those the best materials or how would i be able to find better ones? Is there some kind of value i can search for? And is there a way to minimize the current but keep the voltage? for example topload shape?
i'd very much like to build my own version but don't have enough budget to try out lots of designs / materials so i'd like to get the best experience i can for as little as possible.
The top roller has to rotate as friction here could lead to belt failure. The charge is built up in the lower roller by contact and separation- it doesn't actually need friction between the roller and belt for the charge, just enough to make sure that the roller drives the belt.
The top load should be spherical if possible, with a smooth surface. Any seams or projections will reduce the voltage attainable. Sorry it's taken 10 months for this reply as I have only just found this channel.
@@MervynPartin Hahaha, didn't expect to get an answer to that comment, especially after such a while ^^ Yeah that makes sense and i know about the voltage loss due to corona discharge, i was just wondering why people tend to use spherical toploads for Van-de-Graaff generators and toroidal ones for tesla coils. Thanks nonetheless for the reply and welcome to the channel ^^
It’s very clear that you are an Artist of Science and this is the key to your success my friend. I appreciate your quality builds and clean, clear instructions. A true teacher of our time for the ability to transfer knowledge and understanding to others. Thank you for your time and energy you put into your videos.
I’ve always been a person that wants to ‘make things better’. Whether it was cheering someone up or being a father to children whose dads weren’t ready. Science stuff is no different and I was wondering if you could increase your spark strength by adding aluminum foil or something similar? 🤔
Your comment is much appreciated. I strive to create the highest quality videos I possibly can. I'm....trying to relax my grip a bit on the "perfectness" of my videos, but glad you enjoy my style. Adding aluminum foil to which part? Adding it to the ground plate, yes it would help with spark length.
What about foil on the belt? Or maybe a salt water solution on the belt? 🤔 just some ideas.
I have some interesting stuff that you might be able to do some kewl stuff with using nano carbon. Similar to Graphene but with many thousands of layers. I’ve built several things over the last few years and I’ve come to the point of adding high voltage into the mix. I’m actually kinda terrified of high voltage and I could have been hit by lightning in another life 🤣. I’ve been watching your videos to help me get a better understanding of how to do things right. My HV is coming from two neon sign transformers and an Arc Welder. So yeah, I am trying not to fry stuff. 😎🤔
I'm really happy you become more open in front of the camera and gives good vibes. And I always learn something new from you. If those weren't so much expensive lol.
Thank you. I'm working to be more comfortable and less formal in front of camera. Glad you enjoy my videos!
Incredible video as always jay! Totally worth the wait. Great job!
Oh thanks! Yeah, bit of a wait since I took a week off, and, the build ITSELF took two weeks. Glad you enjoyed!
i made one of these a few years ago out of pvc about 2 times bigger and use a blue plastic 55 gallon drum as a capacitor by lining the inside with aluminum the outside it made over 2 million volts the loudest discharges i have ever heard try it out insane!!!!!
Oh wow. That's just terrifying.
What did you use for the belt and rollers?
@@johnnycash4034 Teflon rod turned on a lath and large exercise belts
@@christophercridlebaugh8965 sounds insane. Do you have a video?
What size teflon rods did you use? I assume the bottom rollet was nylon also? I can't seem to find large excersize belts anywhere? The biggest ones are about this size of this video.
@@johnnycash4034 i can make a video about this it will take about a week got to get it out of storage
Great project. Look ls very professionally! Where did you find such roller? Can you give simd advise. It is really tough to find it
That is a Way Cool build!!! Van DeGraff generator's...helping women bring back '80's hairstyles!!! 🎸😁🦆
Right?! Them hairstyles were the best...and im not even from that era.
Jay this Van de Graaf is fantastic, super clean built, and good power! I think it would be good, if you cover the edge of the sphere with for example electrical tape, than the voltage get higher ;) (bacause of corona discharges)
Haha love it!
Hey Leon! Thanks, I wanted to build a high quality one for a while now. As for the corona leakage, I actually have a corona ring that i'll be putting on the base of the sphere soon.
Definitely wanna build this!
Well done! Can you do a comparison of plasma creation in explosions vs a laser vs static discharge? Some slow-motion videos of each would be sweet!
Hey Adam. Thanks for the idea - Ill give it some thought.
Awesome implementation! One small correction: Tribo-electric effect is charge transfer that occurs when certain dissimilar materials separate, after being in contact with one another.
Thanks, and good correction. You're right...minor mistake on my end.
Hey, to increase the output even more you could tape around the sharp points of the steels meshes, since some charges might be flying off. Amazing video btw!
Yeah, I actually ordered a special corona ring that was supposed to go around the base of the sphere. But...it was just a HAIR too narrow, and would not slide over the tube. Long story short, after a couple hours of dremel grinding to get it to fit, I gave up. I plan on doing a followup video where I supercharge the thing.
@@PlasmaChannel hell yeah
You are from Boston! Wicked Big Storm coming. Pahk your Cah!
Finally, a new Plasma Channel bell! This looks like a fun project! Hmm.. where's my debit card?!
Haha, expect to spend 300-500 dollars if making it just like mine.
Absolutely incredible Jay, nicely done!
Thanks a ton, glad you enjoyed the effort I put into it.
I'm one among your first forty subscribers and from that time till now you're amazing.
Whoa, seriously? That's insane! You know, I plan on doing givaways to my first 100 subs soon. I'll check the records, and if you're one of the first 100, you'll be considered.
Awesome video yet again! Keep the sparks flying!
Thanks!
You have a great site and I love your builds. Now you have to get back to the weight room!
Ahhhh, yeah I do. I need to get back to lifting.
Super! Thank you very much!
That was some mean looking sparks!!! I cannot say how many time I have been shocked!!! Being both a Telecom Master technician and Electrician Shocks are a cost of doing the work. That said, Respect for what ions can do is required. Study well and practice. I am retired and still alive so I must have done something right. I also teach! But I don't just tell someone about a subject but the why behind it. I really enjoy sharing my knowledge and experiences with others!!!
As always, love the video. leaving this comment to algorithm to pick this channel up.
Thanks Chamara.
So nice Jay. This Van De Graaff, would really make a nice giveaway!!!
Stay classy!!
Watching you gush over Plasma Physics makes me really happy inside ⚡⚛️💠 😸
I need to build one too, I absolutely love them 😅👍
Finally someone made a VdG that charges themselves up with healthy negative electrons, instead of the usual, depleting themselves of negative electrons with a positive charge VdG. Have you tried staying connected to it for prolonged periods ?