High Voltage Lifter

This is my compound lifter prototype I made for a High school physics class. I am applying a high voltage charge around 25kv ~1mA from the flyback transformer of a standard 14" CRT. Essentially what is happening is the emitter wire is attracting electrons from nearby air molecules. This creates a cloud of ionized air which is then attracted to the nearest ground potential, being the foil skirt electrically connected to ground, as a source of electrons to regain it's neutral charge. This effect is know as ion-wind. There are other factors such as the biefeld brown effect which is less substantial at lower voltages. The lifter is being held down from going to high with monofilament on each corner.

--John Paine

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• High
• voltage
• hovercraft
• lifter
• flyback
• ion

[knexman10]

Where can I get a power supply that is cheap and that I can get really really fast??!!?

[GUIPenguin]

@knexman10

where do you live? If there isn't any snow on the ground, check a town dump for broken tube monitors...

[knexman10]

@GUIPenguin like a CRT monitor?

[GUIPenguin]

@knexman10  Yup! :)

[GUIPenguin]

@thewii552

A flyback does output DC (as modern flybacks have a built in rectifier)... an ionic breeze...hmm... quite possibly. Not sure what types of voltages they use and at what current. I'd say go for it :) ...but in the mean time I'd still look for an old CRT at a junkyard or the like.

[thewii552]

@GUIPenguin could an "ionic breeze air purifier" be used for this kind of thing? also, i thought a flyback would output DC...

[GUIPenguin]

@thewii552

Has to be high enough to ionize a column of air above the collector. A smaller craft would be less efficient, I believe. You'll want a DC voltage of close to 24Kv (1-2ma)... the flyback xfmr from a CRT makes an excellent power supply for such an experiment.

[thewii552]

@GUIPenguin What is the voltage that is required to run one of theese? like, a really tiny one?

[GUIPenguin]

@thewii552

Corona, along with thousands of little sparks jumping to ground.

[thewii552]

what is the hissing noise?