Van de Graaff generator 1

Van de Graaff generator

Van de Graaff-Generator

Van de Graaff-Generator.

Uses Accelerating electrons to sterilize food and process materials, accelerating protons for nuclear physics experiments, driving X-Ray
tubes, etc.

Inventor Robert J. Van de Graaff

Related items Van de Graaff, linear particle accelerator

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. It was 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.
Van de Graaff generator 2

Description
A simple Van de Graaff-generator
consists of a belt of silk, or a similar
flexible dielectric material, running
over two metal pulleys, one of which is
surrounded by a hollow metal sphere.[1]
Two electrodes, (2) and (7), in the form
of comb-shaped rows of sharp metal
points, are positioned respectively near
to the bottom of the lower pulley and
inside the sphere, over the upper pulley.
Comb (2) is connected to the sphere,
and comb (7) to the ground. A high DC
potential (with respect to earth) is
applied to roller (6); a positive potential
in this example.

As the belt passes in front of the lower

comb, it receives negative charge that
escapes from its points due to the
influence of the electric field around the
Schematic view of a classical Van de Graaff-generator. lower pulley, that ionizes the air at the
1) hollow metal sphere points. As the belt touches the upper
2) upper electrode
roller (3), it transfers some electrons,
3) upper roller (metal)
4) side of the belt with positive charges
leaving the roller with a negative charge
5) opposite side of the belt with negative charges (if it is insulated from the terminal),
6) lower roller (for example an acrylic glass) which added to the negative charge in
7) lower electrode (ground)
the belt generates enough electric field
8) spherical device with negative charges, used to discharge the main sphere
9) spark produced by the difference of potentials
to ionize the air at the points of the
upper comb. Electrons then leak from
the belt to the upper comb and to the terminal, leaving the belt positively charged as it returns down and the terminal
negatively charged. The sphere shields the upper roller and comb from the electric field generated by charges that
accumulate at the outer surface of it, causing the discharge and change of polarity of the belt at the upper roller to
occur practically as if the terminal were grounded. As the belt continues to move, a constant charging current travels
via the belt, and the sphere continues to accumulate negative charge until the rate that charge is being lost (through
leakage and corona discharges) equals the charging current. The larger the sphere and the farther it is from ground,
the higher will be its final potential.

Another method for building Van de Graaff generators is to use the triboelectric effect. The friction between the belt
and the rollers, one of them now made of insulating material, or both made with insulating materials at different
positions on the triboelectric scale, one above and other below the material of the belt, charges the rollers with
opposite polarities. The strong e-field from the rollers then induces a corona discharge at the tips of the pointed comb
electrodes. The electrodes then "spray" a charge onto the belt which is opposite in polarity to the charge on the
rollers. The remaining operation is otherwise the same as the voltage-injecting version above. This type of generator
is easier to build for science fair or homemade projects, since it doesn't require a potentially dangerous high voltage
source. The trade-off is that it cannot build up as high a voltage as the other type, that cannot also be easily regulated,
and operation may become difficult under humid conditions (which can severely reduce triboelectric effects).
Van de Graaff generator 3

A Van de Graaff generator terminal doesn't need to be sphere shaped in order to work, and in fact the optimum shape
is a sphere with an inward curve around the hole where the belt enters. The fact that electrically charged conductors
of any shape have no e-field inside makes it possible to keep adding charges continuously. A rounded terminal
minimizes the electric field around it, allowing greater potentials to be achieved without ionization of the
surrounding air, or other dielectric gas. Outside the sphere the e-field quickly becomes very strong and applying
charges from the outside would soon be prevented by the field.
Since a Van de Graaff generator can supply the same small current at almost any level of electrical potential, it is an
example of a nearly ideal current source. The maximum achievable potential is approximately equal to the sphere's
radius multiplied by the e-field where corona discharges begin to form within the surrounding gas. For example, a
polished spherical electrode 30 cm in diameter immersed in air at STP (which has a breakdown voltage of about 30
kV/cm) could be expected to develop a maximum voltage of about 450 kV.

History
The fundamental idea for the friction machine as
high-voltage supply, using electrostatic influence to
charge rotating disk or belt can be traced back to the 17th
century or even before (cf. Friction machines History)
The Van de Graaff generator was developed, starting in
1929, by physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff at Princeton
University. The first model was demonstrated in October
1929.[2] The first machine used a silk ribbon bought at a
five-and-dime store as the charge transport belt. In 1931 a
version able to produce 1,000,000 volts was described in
a patent disclosure. This version had two 60 cm diameter
charge accumulation spheres mounted on borosilicate
glass columns 180 cm high; the apparatus cost only $90
in 1931.[3]

Van de Graaff applied for a patent in in December 1931,

which was assigned to MIT in exchange for a share of net
income. The patent was later granted.
In 1933 Van de Graaff built a 40-foot (12 m) model at
Van de Graaff generator of the first Hungarian linear particle
MIT's Round Hill facility, the use of which was donated accelerator. It achieved 700 kV in 1951 and 1000 kV in 1952.
by Colonel Edward H. R. Green. (Constructor: Simonyi Károly; Sopron, 1951.)

A more recent development is the tandem Van de

Graaff accelerator, containing one or more Van de Graaff generators, in which negatively charged ions are
accelerated through one potential difference before being stripped of two or more electrons, inside a high voltage
terminal, and accelerated again.
One of Van de Graaff's accelerators used two charged domes of sufficient size that each of the domes had
laboratories inside - one to provide the source of the accelerated beam, and the other to analyze the actual
Van de Graaff generator 4

experiment. The power for the equipment inside the

domes came from generators that ran off the belt, and
several sessions came to a rather gruesome end when a
pigeon would try to fly between the two domes, causing
them to discharge. (The accelerator was set up in an
airplane hangar.)
By the 1970s, up to 14 million volts could be achieved at
the terminal of a tandem that used a tank of high pressure
sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas to prevent sparking by
trapping electrons. This allowed the generation of heavy
ion beams of several tens of megaelectronvolts, sufficient
A Van de Graaff generator integrated with a particle accelerator.
to study light ion direct nuclear reactions. The highest
The generator produces the high fields (in the megavolt range)
potential sustained by a Van de Graaff accelerator is 25.5 that accelerate the particles.
MV, achieved by the tandem at the Holifield Radioactive
Ion Beam Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

A further development is the pelletron, where the rubber or fabric belt is replaced by a chain of short conductive rods
connected by insulating links, and the air-ionizing electrodes are replaced by a grounded roller and inductive
charging electrode. The chain can be operated at much higher velocity than a belt, and both the voltage and currents
attainable are much higher than with a conventional Van de Graaff generator. The 14 UD Heavy Ion Accelerator at
The Australian National University houses a 15 million volt pelletron. Its chains are more than 20 meters long and
can travel faster than 50 km/hr.[4]
The Nuclear Structure Facility (NSF)[5] at Daresbury Laboratory was proposed in the 1970s, commissioned in 1981
and opened for experiments in 1983. It consisted of a tandem Van de Graaff generator operating routinely at 20 MV,
housed in a distinctive building 70 metres high. During its lifetime it accelerated 80 different ion beams for
experimental use, ranging from protons to uranium. A particular feature was the ability to accelerate rare isotopic
and radioactive beams. Perhaps the most important discovery made on the NSF was that of super-deformed nuclei.
These nuclei, when formed from the fusion of lighter elements, rotate very rapidly. The pattern of gamma-rays
emitted as they slow down provided detailed information about the inner structure of the nucleus. Following
financial cutbacks, the NSF closed in 1993.
Van de Graaff generator 5

Van de Graaff generators on display

The largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator in the world,
built by Dr. Van de Graaff in the 1930s, is now on permanent
display at Boston's Museum of Science. With two conjoined
4.5 meter (15 foot) aluminium spheres standing on columns
22 feet (6.7 m) tall, this generator can often reach 2 MV (2
million volt). Shows using the Van de Graaff generator and
several Tesla coils are conducted two to three times a day.
Many science museums, such as the American Museum of
Science and Energy, have small-scale Van de Graaff
generators on display, and exploit their static-producing
qualities to create "lightning" or make people's hair stand up.

Comparison with other high voltage

generators
A Van de Graaff generator on display at the Maker Faire,
Other classical electrostatic machines like a Wimshurst San Mateo, 2008.
Machine or a Bonetti machine[6] can easily produce more
current than a Van de Graaff generator for experiments with electrostatics, and have positive and negative output.
The less insulated structures, however, result in smaller voltages.

Patents
• U.S. Patent 1991236 [7] — "Electrostatic Generator"
• U.S. Patent 2922905 [8] — "Apparatus For Reducing Electron Loading In Positive-Ion Accelerators"

References
[1] Zavisa, John M.. "How Van de Graaff Generators Work" (http:/ / science. howstuffworks. com/ vdg. htm). HowStuffWorks. . Retrieved
2007-12-28.
[2] Van de Graaff biography (http:/ / chem. ch. huji. ac. il/ ~eugeniik/ history/ graaff. html)
[3] Article "Van de Graaff's Generator", in "Electrical Engineering Handbook", Richard C. Dorf (ed)., CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida USA,
1993 ISBN 0-8493-0185-8
[4] http:/ / www. anu. edu. au/ CSEM/ machines/ Accelerator. htm
[5] J S Lilley 1982 Phys. Scr. 25 435-442 doi:10.1088/0031-8949/25/3/001)
[6] "The Bonetti electrostatic machine" (http:/ / www. coe. ufrj. br/ ~acmq/ bonetti. html). www.coe.ufrj.br. . Retrieved 2010-09-14.
[7] http:/ / www. google. com/ patents?vid=1991236
[8] http:/ / www. google. com/ patents?vid=2922905
Van de Graaff generator 6

External links
• UVA Virtual Lab: Van de Graaff Generators (http://virlab.virginia.edu/VL/VDG.htm) University of Virginia
• Interactive Java tutorial - Van de Graaff Generator (http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/education/tutorials/java/
vandegraaff/index.html) National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
• The Van de Graaff Accelerator Facility (http://tesla.physics.wmich.edu/ResearchFacilities.php?PG=1&
SC=1) Western Michigan University
• Dr. Van de Graaff's huge machine at Museum of Science (http://www.mos.org/sln/toe/toe.html)
• Van de Graaff Generator Frequently Asked Questions (http://amasci.com/emotor/vdgdesc.html)
• "Vivitron English version" (http://ireswww.in2p3.fr/ires/recherche/vivitron/uk/discovering.htm). Retrieved
2005-12-26. Vivitron 20MV+ generator
• Illustration from Report on Van de Graaff Generator From “Progress Report on the M.I.T. High-Voltage
Generator at Round Hill" (http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/exhibits/van-de-graaff/)
• Nikola Tesla, " Possibilities Of Electrostatic Generators (http://www.tesla.hu/tesla/articles/19340300.doc)
DOC". Scientific American, March, 1934. (.doc format)
• Paolo Brenni , The Van de Graaff Generator - An Electrostatic Machine for the 20th Century (http://
pagesperso-orange.fr/lyonel.baum/sis.html) Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 63 (1999)
• Charrier Jacques " Le générateur de Van de Graaff (http://www.sciences.univ-nantes.fr/physique/perso/
charrier/tp/wimshurst/van.html)". Faculté des Sciences de Nantes.
• Making VDGs (http://web.singnet.com.sg/~sengam/construction.htm)
• Hellborg, Ragnar, ed. Electrostatic Accelerators: Fundamentals and Applications [N.Y., N.Y.: Springer, 2005].
Available on-line at: http://books.google.com/books?id=tc6CEuIV1jEC&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&
dq=electrostatic+accelerator+book&source=web&ots=Qa0DbmiZJt&
sig=bLoYaz_VUpBr7-Wv4lk_fLBnUo4#PPP1,M1
• Build your own VDG (http://www.instructables.com/id/
900000_volt_Van_de_Graaff_Generator_using_cheap_p/)
Article Sources and Contributors 7

Article Sources and Contributors

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