Wimshurst Machine: An Exploration & Explanation

See the bottom of this description for a link to a PDF "white paper" on Wimshurst Machines.

In this video, I use my Wimshurst Machine to talk about the history of this and similar electrostatic 'influence' machines, to identify and name the various parts, to describe the theory of operation, and finally to provide some troubleshooting tips for devices of this kind.

The machine shown is produced by an Illinois company, United Scientific, as their model WIMS02. Their website is www.unitedsci.com

It is available from various scientific supply sellers, as well as by Amazon, etc.

In the video, I make reference to another YouTube video, and here is the video title and its URL:
"How a Wimshurst Machine Works" by 'RimstarORG'
   • How a Wimshurst Machine Works  

The above referenced video does an excellent job of depicting the charges found on various parts of a Wimshurst Machine, and how those charges are moved around as the machine operates.

My video here covers the same theoretical points as the other video, but adds history, covers some of the more mechanical aspects of the machine, shows it in operation, and provides operational, safety and troubleshooting advice.

In conjunction with this video, I also produced a 'white paper' on Wimshurst Machines, and a PDF may be downloaded from my fileshare webpage:
https://www.serpentwebsite.com/filesh...

Timeline Table of Contents:
00:00 Demonstration
01:51 Introduction
03:03 History
05:43 Parts Identification
19:20 Self-Starting & Triboelectricity
22:07 Basic Concepts
25:25 Theory of Operation
51:34 Safety
53:29 Environment & Troubleshooting