tech e blog

couldnt this be seen as an infinate power source aslong as you can keep the water flowing through it? (possibly reuse the water in a loop)

None of it makes any sense. Nothing there would be able to make any potential difference, especially with water. Its a hoax, everone thesedays think water is some magical energy source. The only time this is true is when its running off a cliff.

random guess... sumthing to do with atoms. since it contains protons, neutron and electrons. maybe waters atomic characteristic has an ability to attract a numerous amount of electrons in air particles and since it passes through a small can, the water is charged with electrons. the water in the larger can has electrons too but cosist of a balance of - and +. since electrons are +, maybe it causes an imbalance in atomic figures that create an outburst of energy. i dunno random guess, im not even a scientist.. god all that took a hell lotta random thinking :D just kinda lookd simple so i guess the explanation is kinda simple lol.. dont trust me for thinking complicatied stuffs :D i gave my share of thought .. -j a i i woz ere 'o7 :o

fakefrank0002 i think u could use a waterfall, dont need any pump, power free...

LOL Quit getting excited people. This is an old electrostatic demonstration that was discovered by Lord Kelvin back in the late 1800s. It may generate many volts potential, but no actual power to do any real work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin_water_dropper

I did notice that the right stream was larger than the left, So I would say that it is actually the air displacement that is creating the static on the cans and opposite charge on the water passing through. So the right can is + and right bin is minus, left can - and left bin +. The charge builds up on the left-bin/right-can coursing the water to be attracted until the static discharges on the points between the bins. Are we going to have the other part of the video?

A very interesting demo, assuming its not some 'screw with the freshmen' mind fsck!! (and a very good looking freshman our trusty cameraman chose to observe ;-) With that in mind, I would have to say that although H2O is a dipol molecule, it is not dissociated and therefore is electrically neutral. However, the prof. did not mention if the water was distilled or not. My guess is that the water is just tap water, and therefore full of minerals and IONS. The system is composed of two halfs, a mechanical part, the falling water , and an electrical part, the isolated positive and negative bucket/can, which has, throught the properties of charged particles, an effect on the mechanical system. The streams are split from a common source, and so obviously start at a common potential, but if the water is not distilled, then it conducts electricity, and electric field (potential) applies a force to charged particles. The fact that the buckets and cans are 'cross wired' creates a positive feedback effect, therefore, any slight discrepancy in the charge of the cans/buckets will be felt by the falling streams, inducing a 'virtual' current between the stream and the can, flowing back thru the water to the split point causing positive ions to flow predominantly to the negative can under influence of the potential, and vice versa, to the point that the water streams would be composed increasingly of positive or negative ions, and eventually, actually be attracted to the cans so strongly that they overcome the surface tension of the water, and the momentum of their fall, such that they begin to 'spread'. So a couple extra negative ions flow thru the left can (lets say - more likely the cans are not at exactly the same potential at the start which is what would kick the whole thing off, but lets start with the stream), causing a positive charge to appear on the can, and thru the connecting wire its reflected in the right bucket, which is catching water with an equal positive charge (due to conservation of charge) falling thru the right can which induces a negative charge on the right can/left bucket which is catching negative ions. Since the right can is negative it will attract positive ions in the water, and the left can is positive it will attract negative ions at the split, and a positive reinforcement is born, and hence a runaway potential build up - until a spark dissipates the build up. What are the limits of the system? If the balls where the ark is relieving the build up are moved to infinite distance (and so are the buckets, obviously!) then the limiting factor is the attraction of the ions to the cans thru which they fall. For a very long can, the water will contact the can, discharge its electrons or holes and the circuit will be complete - no further build-up. You could increase the dia of the can, but then its still just a matter of time before the attraction overcomes gravity and the charged water particles fling horizontally to the can. Also: The arc can only dissipate so much charge before the potential causing it is reduced below the resistance to further flow, by definition somewhere above complete zero differential, thereby setting the stage for the next cycle. Man, I just re-read that for spelling, and either I can sling some bullshit, I've had too much to drink, or I'm right - and I truthfully don't know which ;-)

Static build-up it is! ...I always used to call it the "sparking buckets" experiment and not the "water battery", but the science is the same - for more info, please see my page at: http://bizarrelabs.com/buckets.htm Cheers, Wayne

bbug, What do you mean??? A water mill uses weight and gravity to turn the wheel...