Van de Graaff Generator

A Van de Graaff generator

A Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic machine. It uses a moving, nonmetallic belt to accumulate very high voltages on a hollow metal globe. Voltage differences achieved in modern Van de Graaff generators can reach 5 megavolts. Applications for these high voltage generators include driving X-ray tubes, accelerating electrons to sterilize food and process materials, and accelerating protons for nuclear physics experiments. 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. It is named after the American physicist Robert Jemison Van de Graaff, who built the first generators of this style in 1929.

Van De Graaff Generator Media

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  This Van de Graaff generator of the first Hungarian linear particle accelerator achieved 700 kV in 1951 and 1000 kV in 1952.

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  A Van de Graaff particle accelerator in a pressurized tank at Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris

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  Van de Graaff generator diagram

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  A simplified diagram of a Tandem Accelerator

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  Van de Graaff Tandem accelerator at NCSRD in Greece

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  Woman touching Van de Graaff generator at the American Museum of Science and Energy. The charged strands of hair repel each other and stand out from her head