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Re: Towards the autonomous lifter - electrostatic voltage generators.

Original poster: "Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz" <acmdq@xxxxxxxxxx>

Tesla list wrote:

Original poster: Ed Phillips <evp@xxxxxxxxxxx>
"Especially useful for our methods might be the
Wimhurst, Wehrsen,
Holtz, or Bonetti machines. I believe these devices
would be able to
deliver more current and therefore greater wattage for
our
application than a Van de Graaff generator."
    Not sure about it, but I think that ES motors have a very poor
power/weight ratio, and are probably quite inefficient.  Antonio would
know about that.  Has anyone calculated the power required to operate a
lifter of useful size?


Apparently, the required voltage is not so high, maybe less than 20 kV,
but the current is high, more than 1 mA for a small device.
It's not simple to build an electrostatic generator that can produce
1 mA, operating in normal air. My most powerful machines produce
just 100 uA, and I can't power a lifter with just this. I tried,
a significant "wind" is produced, but not enough to lift the device.
Maybe if I manage to build a very light one. An electronic power
supply, maybe using a Tesla-coil transformer (air core) and a suitable
rectifier may be more practical than an electrostatic generator,
when weight is the critical factor. A 1 mA electrostatic machine
would weight many kilograms, not counting the motor to power it.

Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz