As an electrical engineer, this is what i needed to understand the electric field in a charging inductor. I am going to use these methods now to finally understand if an inductor's E field actually does look like a ring that moves accross the inductor and disappears when the magnetic field is established. As much as i appreciate all the videos from professors going over flux, inductance, and e fields. The math is just too abstract for me to visualize it all. Thank you very much for making this video!
This is a good informative video, yet all those silver sphere's and two conducters are reminding of the Phantasm movies. That's awesome I'm learning something and being entertained all at the same time!
I love this video! I'm a physics professor, as well, and would like to use your idea of mapping the equipotential lines across a charged surface using carbon paper. Where did you get graphed carbon paper? Thanks!
I took about 3/4 cup of perlite and put it in the middle of a paper plate and put the plate on a Van de Graff generator. When I turned on the generator the perlite flew up and then out ward as it got farther away from the generator. It made for a fairly dramatic demonstration. By the way, thanks for pointing out the fly stick. I got one and it has been very helpful.
Gyration, also called rays, are sine transverse deviation from the linear force progression, and form waves where Heisenberg showed the uncertainty of finding electrons in the probability cloud, best described by quantum numbers.
Is it a little dangerous to put your body into the circuit? Especially as the current flow is across your heart? It only takes a small amount of current to do some damage even with voltages below 9v.
The paper, "A Complete Electrical Hazard Classification System and Its Application", is a good reference. You can find this paper on the web. The steady current a tabletop Van de Graaff generator can produce is well-below the level considered hazardous, and it is below the threshold of feeling. Also, the energy in the stored charge in the high voltage spherical (or semi-spherical) electrode at the top is well-below the level considered hazardous, even though it can give you a most unpleasant jolt when that momentary arc jumps out and hits your skin!
You can also show that the electric field is perpendicular to surfaces by showing students that the sparks from the plasma bulb always hit the bulb at a right angle and never at another angle :D
You can get negative charge from balloons and positive from copier transparencies. Also, you can borrow from the physics library, we have a vdg generator I loan it out often.
