900,000 volt Van de Graaff Generator Using Cheap Parts

Step 10 Base step 5 pic

Note: the motor and bottom pulley needs to turn counter clock wise in the pic below.

The belt and matching pulleys came from the sewing machine.

The aluminum box I mounted the bottom pulley to is just a spacer, you don't have to build yours that way.

I made my motor clamp out of a couple of bolts and a scrap piece of metal with two holes drilled in it.

Comments

[christian2gothic]

everytime i look up "how to" for these Van De Graaff projects there seems to be a lack of details on the brush where the static is passed from the belt to the metal. please include more information on what you did here and why, as i find it a bit confusing. how do you avoid damage to the belt while having a metal rub against it the entire time it's in motion. i would think the metal would scratch up and quickly destroy the belt. what do other people tend to use for a metal brush?

[nickademuss]

go to step 11, it shows where the comb or brush is mounted...

[ultraVDG]

hi christian2gothic,

brush=comb
The brush doesn´t touch the belt. The charge (you call it "static") is transfered trough the air onto the belt because of breakdown field strength (of air) is reached with sharp edges form the brush.