replying to Christopher Tidy, Brian wrote:
Chris it is amazing that you reached the same conclusion I did, that oil could
replace the charge belt. In a conventional Van De Graaff generator, the lower
end of the charge belt is exposed to a static charge leaking onto the belt,
from a series of sharp needles. The upper end works the same way, but in
reverse - the charges leak off the charge belt, and onto another row of
needles. So. if you replace the charge belt with oil pumped upward into a
cavity at the top with that needle thing again, I think it would work. I have
heard, that Johnson's Baby Oil, which is a mineral oil, has very high
insulative properties, and would work well as a charge pump?

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