Kelvin Water Dropper (5A40.70)

Description:

An unusual induction machine in which dripping water acts as the carrier for charge buildup in two metal cans. When a sufficiently high voltage is reached, the cans discharge through a small fluorescent bulb. Note: This is hard to see in a large class.

Procedure or Operation Notes:

Fill both of the top white plastic cups, making sure that the electrical contact on each touches the metal strip. Also make sure that the bottom two cups touch their respective metal strips.

Turn the room lights completely off to see the fluorescent bulb flash.

References, Comments, or Footnotes:

1) Kelvin Water Dropper. [Wikipedia]

2) "Electrostatic Model Applied to ISS Charged Water Droplet Experiment" Daan Stevenson and Hanspeter Schaub. Proc. ESA Annual Meeting on Electrostatics 2015.