Wimshurst machine
A Wimshurstmaschine is an early influence machine for generating high voltage by means of induction. It was named after its British inventor James Wimshurst, which developed this machine in 1878.
Construction
Characteristic are the two vertically mounted, contra-rotating and non-conductive discs on which conductive segments are made of metal. Two opposing balls, which are electrically fed by customers, form a spark gap.
On each side there is a " neutralizer " is ( See Figure: neutralizer runs on the front from top left to bottom right), which connects customers through each opposite segments on a disk. By adjusting the neutralizers, the machine can adapt to high current output or high output voltage: When set high neutralizers (as in the illustration) the machine supplies a high voltage ( up to 100 kV). Are the neutralizers close to the customer ( left and right), so decreases the output voltage and the possible output current increases.
The Wimshurstmaschine requires no electric charge for the initial start as more are small faults of the neutral equilibrium of charge distribution is present. For the operation of mechanical energy is required in the form of a rotational movement. At the output, at constant rotational speed of the discs a constant electric current ( 10 uA some ) are available.
Can be stored charge as any other source of high voltage in high-voltage- grade capacitors, which can be implemented as in other historic electrical equipment, for example in the form of Leyden jars. They smooth the voltage and this results in a slightly larger gap distance, ie the maximum bridgeable by the spark air gap, and a higher discharge current. While no capacitors only hear a faint clicking noise and the rollovers are observed only in the dark, loud bright spark can be generated with storage capacitors.