Widjaja 1

Keenan Aldrich Widjaja

Mr. Hans

Physics

23 November 2023

The Van de Graaf Generator

The Van De Graaf generator is a machine that is famously known to “raise” your hair

upon contact. The structure of this machine is usually a hollow metal sphere standing on an

insulated metal pole enclosed by a larger metal glass, inside the machine there is a motor

connected to a roller encapsulated by one belt which is connected to another belt, the belts

contain of different materials however usually the bottom belt uses materials that attract electrons

and the top belt uses a neutral material. The mechanism’s name, Van De Graaf, originated from

its creator, an American physicist Robert J Van de Graaff in 1929 as a particle accelerator

experiment which is used to accelerate subatomic particles to vast amounts of speed at an

enclosed tube.

A Van de Graaff generator operates by using a motor to turn a roller, which, in turn, sets

two belts in motion. This mechanism takes advantage of the triboelectric effect, where the roller

rubbing against the bottom belt causes the transfer of negatively charged electrons to the roller,

leaving positively charged electrons on the metal beneath. This process generates positive ions in

the air, attracted to the negatively charged roller. As the top roller maintains its negative charge,

it attracts the positive ions, creating a cycle. Eventually, the positive ions accumulate around the

metal sphere, forming a charge that discharges when an object comes close enough.
 Widjaja 2

Works Cited

Van De Graaff Generator. (n.d.). Museum IPTEK, Jakarta, Jawa Barat, Indonesia.

University, Seattle. “Electrostatics - Fur/Hair with van de Graaff Generator | Electricity

and Magnetism | Physics Demos | Physics | College of Science and Engineering.” Seattle

University,

www.seattleu.edu/scieng/physics/physics-demos/electricity-and-magnetism/electrostatics

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0dome.

“How van de Graaff Generators Work.” YouTube, YouTube Video, 28 Feb. 2017,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=y20lKZB5BR0.