Electrostatic Motor

Electrostatic Motor The idea of an electrostatic motor as an electrical machine that converts the electric field energy was born in the middle of the 19th century. It is often associated with the name of the German physicist Johann Christian Poggendorff, who in fact used the principles discovered by Benjamin Franklin in his study of interaction between oppositely charged bodies. Poggendorff's motor consisted of a glass disc located on a vertical axes placed in minimum-friction bearings. There was an ebonite cross above the disc with two racks of metal needles going down each side. Another ebonite cross with racks was placed underneath the disc. When supplied with about 2 kilovolts of voltage, the disc started to rotate as a result of counteraction between the positive and the negative charges accompanied with glow and sound appearing next to the needles of the racks. If the racks were directed towards one of the sides, the rotation speed of the disc increased and its direction was identified. Poggendorff's motor is a good manual for demonstration of how static energy can be converted in rotation, and, although it cannot be applied for practical purposes, it did serve as a basis for the motors that appeared later on.

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Science & Technology