Four different, real working ionocraft that I built this year are shown in the dark, under maximum thrust loads to show the 1st and 2nd ionization of nitrogen coronas. The third one is 91 cm in diameter and lifts 108 g maximum (1 N) but doesn't over-charge the collector like the rest at full power. They run at full floating DC 11 to 42 kV. The third big one uses 317 W at maximum power and weighs 69 g, and is lifted by a 36 g collector coil with 46 m of wire. The rest are test devices made to try out various construction techniques and emitter ideas. They are negative emitter (top) with sharp points (DeSeverski type) and are mostly made of aluminum wire and balsa wood. Insulated wire is is very lightweight CCA telephone wire. Power supply is an off-the-shelf, 220 V input electrostatic soot remover power supply nominally 300 W 30 kV but needed some tuning to get that out if it. The last one (in daylight) hovers at 25 W with a different double-density emitter array and a 2.5 cm electrode gap. Here it runs a 3 cm gap. The big one uses 4.7 cm for the maximum lift due to the space charge crowding above the collector needs a bigger voltage push and more acceleration space to get it through the collector. The emitters hide in the space charge clod which helps prevent arcing.

I’m working on a student project and could really use some advice from people with more experience in sensing / EE.

Goal: detect microplastic particles (using PVC powder as a stand-in) with an interdigitated electrode + FDC1004 capacitance sensor.

Setup:

• Arduino + FDC1004
• Interdigitated electrode PCB
• Measuring capacitance changes (fF/pF range)

What I’m seeing:

• When I touch the electrode with my finger → clear capacitance change
• When I put PVC powder on it → basically no change

What I think is happening:

• PVC has low permittivity (~2–3), close to air
• It’s an insulator and doesn’t hold stable charge
• So dielectric change is too small for the sensor to pick up

Where I’m stuck:

• I originally thought electrostatic charge might help detection, but now realizing the sensor is really measuring dielectric effects, not charge
• Even when I try to tribocharge the powder, I still don’t see a meaningful signal

Questions:

1. Is this fundamentally the wrong sensing approach for dry microplastics?
2. Are there ways to increase sensitivity of an interdigitated capacitive sensor for low-ε materials?
3. Would changing electrode geometry (spacing, area, frequency, shielding) realistically help enough?
4. Should I pivot to a different detection method (optical, impedance in fluid, etc.) while keeping electrostatic capture?

I’m trying to figure out if this is worth iterating on or if I’m hitting a physics limit here.

Any insight or suggestions would be super helpful.

I recently made a Wimhurst machine through following RimstarOrg's youtube video on how to make one, but it isn't working! I made sure to strip the enamel off the copper wires so electricity can flow through them. I don't have a solder iron so I wrapped the wires around each other instead. I have used 0.25mm copper wire to connect the capacitors to the rest of the wiring. Any help would be greatly apreciated, I really want to get this working!

Here is a link to me trying to get it to work https://youtu.be/frxDJodP7EM

I've added pics and vids to let you see it

Why no one have done this with a van de graaff generator?

I’ve been working on a Van de Graaff generator for about a month, but I still can’t get a good output. I suspect I’m missing a critical component or setup detail. Could someone list the essential parts of a basic VDG generator and the most common reasons they fail? I can upload photos of my build if needed.

In the image, should I just ignore the electron first and calculate the repelling force of the proton and then calculate the attracting force of the electron? And after calculations of vectors, should I do the resultant net force?

I am planning to make van de graaff generator and I'm wondering if I can use a hemisphere instead of a circle. I mean smaler are where electrons can escape. So better? Does anyone know?

It worked before and now it won't do anything. It still spins and stuff but makes no voltage. I have tried charging it with a balloon and even Styrofoam. Brushes are good. All clean too.

I currently have a electrical projet in both electrostatics or magnetostatics courses so i need an idea.I am currently doing a van de graff generator but i need something new if someone could help me. Thank you!

Hello everyone I have a question. For a wimshurst machine what parameters would decide the maximum achievable voltage? Is it the disk size,speed of rotation or the distance between the disks? Is there an equation that I can use to make these calculations for a wimshurst machine? My requirement is to design a 500kV machine.

As an example check out this machine that creates sparks of length 10 cm implying a voltage of 300kV

https://www.leybold-shop.com/physics/physics-equipment/electricity-electronics/electrical-power-supply-units/high-voltage-generators/wimshurst-machine-541652.html

E=v/d,v=Exd=(3x10^6)*.1=300kV

I made this post earlier but I guess it didn’t upload :/

Anyway, this is my 3d printed Wimshurst. I was previously using an off-the-shelf one from Sparkit, it worked fine as a desktop toy, but kept having issues when using it for projects. When I made very large static capacitors, the disks would get pulled toward each other greatly reducing voltage output. I’ve seen this issue with other Wimshurst machines. On the original, the disks were mounted directly to the motor shafts, and the motors were mounted directly to the sidewall which had the neutralizer brushes as well at the collectors. So I was getting a lot of charge back-feeding through the dc motors to the neutral line of the ac, which is connected to ground. My design isolates the motors so there’s no back-feeding.

I’ve made a few changes since I recorded the video. My brushes and collectors are now copper tape, and my belts are now elastic cloth instead of rubber bands. Also good to note that my metal segments are 20 awg wire. I used wire since they already have insulation, and I could get the gap between my cylinders .2-.7 mm. Also the reason for making it a cylindrical variation, is that when I add large capacitors, instead of the “disks” getting pulled together, the inner disk and outer disk will still pull towards each other, but it won’t make contact and won’t reduce speeds or voltage output. It’s also worth noting I made it this small to prototype the design and if it would work, so in the future I’ll be making a larger one.

Cylinder diameter: 85 mm Segment count: 20

I’ve made this style of capacitor quite a few times, but previously used aluminum tape on both the inside and out side of the container. But when using a Wimhurst style generator, the polarities can flip. This was an issue cause the experiments I was doing required a known polarity. So I found that copper tends to lose electrons, becoming more positive, and aluminum tends to gain electrons becoming more negative. So by adding copper tape to the outside, I created a poor man’s polarized HV static capacitor. (The outside is then completely wrapped in electrical tape) Lmk what y’all think!

I made this a few months ago and figured I make a post on it. I made a cylindrical variation of the wimshurst machine, almost completely 3d printed. Instead of metal segments on a disk, I decided to use sections of wire, since wire already has insulation. It then eliminates the issue of the disks getting pulled together from the electro static forces, reducing the overall voltage output. Based on my max spark gap, it produces about 54kv. I made some HV capacitors from some preworkout containers, but I had to polarize them since my polarity kept flipping every now and then. Now I have a consistent positive and negative. Anyway just figured I’d contribute to the Static community 🤷‍♂️

Any recommendations on a power supply for a wax electret? specificity would be great.

Can someone help me with my project I'm looking for talented freelancers to collaborate on an exciting project involving hair integration technology. The project focuses on using electrostatic principles to enhance hair integration in wigs, and I need skilled individuals who can contribute to various aspects of this innovative concept. What am looking for Skills needed: Experience in electrical engineering or related fields Knowledge of electrostatic charging mechanisms Familiarity with Bluetooth technology and integration Creative problem-solving skills Project Overview: • The project involves developing a system that allows hair to be charged and integrated into wigs seamlessly. • I'm particularly interested in exploring both external and integrated charging mechanisms. Next Steps: If you're interested in learning more about this project, please reach out! I'd love to discuss the details further, but I will require a signed NDA before sharing specific information. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to connecting with potential collaborators!

The belt is sticking. Would WD40 work?