Lesson 1: Coulomb’s Law
What is it?
A Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic generator which uses a moving belt to
accumulate very high electrostatically stable voltages on a hollow metal globe on the top of
the stand. Invented in 1929 by American physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff, the potential
differences achieved in modern Van de Graaff generators can reach 5 megavolts. The Van de
Graaff generator can be thought of as a constant-current source connected in parallel with a
capacitor and a very large electrical resistance.
A Van de Graaff generator is a charged hollow conductor, usually a sphere, which can
develop a potential difference up to millions of volts. It is used to generate static electricity.
Robert J. Van de Graaff invented this type of generator in 1929. He used the fact that the
charge for a conductor in electrostatic equilibrium resides on the surface and the fact that a
charged conductor placed inside a hollow conductor will have all its charge transferred to
the hollow one.
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- Spring '11
- miyzaki
- Electric charge, Van de Graaff generator, Van de Graaff, graaff generator, Robert J. Van de Graaff
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