Naked Science Forum

On the Lighter Side => Science Experiments => Topic started by: thedoc on 20/03/2013 18:07:36

Title: Electricity from water - Kelvin water drop generator - Garage Science
Post by: thedoc on 20/03/2013 18:07:36: This is a beautiful little demonstration dating back to to Lord Kelvin. Using a few cans wires and dripping water it is possible to generate thousands of volts in a beautifully elegant piece of physics.

Read more about this experiment. (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/kitchenscience/garage-science/exp/electricity-from-water-kelvin-water-drop-generator/)

Garage science is a blog of science experiments you probably can't or shouldn't do at home
Title: Electricity from water - Kelvin water drop generator - Garage Science
Post by: Bored chemist on 05/11/2009 10:13:50: Shouldn't the top two containers be connected together too?
Title: Electricity from water - Kelvin water drop generator - Garage Science
Post by: rosy on 22/09/2009 13:31:42: Yeah. And infact they are. Both are sitting (as far as I recall) on a sheet of aluminium which you might just be able to see looking at the set-up in the photo, forming the connection (the paint having been sanded off the bottom of the pots). You could equally use a single trough of water with two taps out of it. An extra wire ought to be drawn in...
Title: Electricity from water - Kelvin water drop generator - Garage Science
Post by: daveshorts on 22/09/2009 15:49:47: You are of course right, I have now updated the diagrams
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Post by: Mick on 03/10/2009 12:44:17: "Electrons in the water are attracted by the positive ring, so the drops which are just forming in this ring become negative and then fall into the pot below. "
If the positive ring is attracting electrons from the water, shouldn't that leave the water drops with a positive charge? Or are we looking at ionization of the air within the ring (positive ions sucking electrons from the water)?
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Post by: Mick on 03/10/2009 12:46:10: ...no that wouldn't work either -- dammit!
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Post by: Josh on 26/10/2009 00:14:37: Scuse me,
Is there a way to harness this 1000v energy?
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Post by: Samuel Moon on 28/10/2009 13:28:31: I want to know how we can measure the voltage in this equipment(Kelvin's water dropper)
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Post by: Calum on 03/12/2009 18:26:00: I think it is important to mention that the effect is due to Electrostatic Induction ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrostatic_induction ).
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Post by: Adrian on 27/06/2010 05:59:08: Hello i was wondering why my Klevin Water dropper is not working. I have practically copied the model in the video except my drippers are 50ml glass burets (large pippets) and i have a wire attaching these together they then drip down through my inducers (coat hanger wire) to my collectors which are baked bean tins with an alumnium false bottom which i added due to the plastic lining on the inside of the cans also i have done the experiment in the souther hemisphere with aproxx 60% or less humidity and i dont know if its my flow rate thats the promblem or what also i checked for shorting with an am radio but there wrre none also i was aproxx getting 1.5 dropps per second
thanks if any one has a solution please contact me on aj_wild@msn.com
Title: None
Post by: Michael (Tasmania) on 19/05/2016 11:12:08: The water holding containers and droppers can be made from electrically insulating materials and not connected to earth provided there is a water path connecting them allowing ions to flow from one dropper to the other as in a variant I have made.