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Electrostatics: Dirod Enhancement

CSEF · 2002 Electricity & Electronics

Patrick D. Mobley · Kucera (Ethel M.) Middle School, Rialto

Overview

Objectives/Goals My goal is to make the dirod, an electrostatic generator, the most effective it can possibly be. The first step that I took towards this goal was to test the rod material to try to improve it by testing different metals. The most effective will replace the previously used rod material, and I will continue my goal. Methods/Materials I constructed a dirod out of what materials I could find and began testing. I tested aluminum, brass, and copper rods to a total of 10 trials each. I chose these metals because they are commonly used in generators and electric appliances. I tested the materials by running the generator for exactly 15 seconds with a 6mm spark gap. After testing them, I gathered my results. Results The material brass, was the most effective at creating sparks in a given amout of time. Aluminum performed the worst but still aquired a good number of sparks. Conclusions/Discussion My conclusion is that brass is the most effective rod material for the dirod. Also, by comparing rod prices, I figured out that brass is also the most expensive.

Summary statement

My project is about testing and observing different rod materials to make the most effective dirod.

Help received

Dad helped build dirod; brother helped with graphs.

Competition history

  • CSEF 2002 Electricity & Electronics · Entry J0719

Resources

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