Instruction S heet

012-07229B

Van de G raff G enerator

S F-9722

Banana plug socket

C onductive sphere

Polyethylene roller

Plexiglas insulators

rubberband
Plexiglas roller
G round connector
Pow ercord connector
Speed controlknob
Pow ersw itch

Included Equipm ent PartN um ber tw o rollers,com posed ofpolyethylene and Plexiglas respec-
tively.
Van de G raffG enerator SF-9722

The low errollercan be driven by a variable speed m otororby

Introduction
The Van de G raaffG eneratoris an electrostatic m achine for
the production ofvery high voltage D C.The low currentstatic
charge produced by the Van de G raaffgeneratoriscom pletely
harm less.
hand depending on the placem entofthe drive belt.The cur-
rentproduced can be varied (approx.6 µA ).
The m otorcan be connected to 230 or110 V A C.Itispow ered
on and offby m eans ofthe sw itch.The m otorspeed is
adjusted w ith the controlknob.The generatorisequipped w ith
a banana plug socketin the fram e w hich m ay be used as a
ground connection ora connection to the conductive sphere.

The generatoris provided w ith a conductive sphere w ith a
diam eterof220 M M .The sphere is equipped w ith a 4 M M .
dia.banana plug socketforconnection to otherequipm ent
through a w ire.The charge capacity ofthe sphere is approx.
15 µF.The conductive sphere is installed on tw o Plexiglas
insulators.Static electricity is generated by a rubberband and
The strength ofthe Van de G raaffgenerator’s charge depends
on the condition ofthe generatorand on hum idity.The sphere
and band should be keptabsolutely free ofdustand dirt,the
sam e applies to the tw o verticalinsulators.
W hen storing the generator,keep itaw ay from light,as the
rubberband can becom e conductive w hen exposed to lightfor
long periods.Chem icals can also degrade the rubber-band.
V an de G raff G enerator
The Van de G raaffgeneratorcan be operated m anually orby
m otordepending on the placem entofthe driving belt(see Fig.
1 below ).
Troubleshooting
Fig.1:O ptions form anualorelectric drive
C leaning and adjustm ent
D isassem bly
1. Rem ove the sphere by lifting itup.Ifthe sphere does not
liftoffeasily,itm ay be necessary to gently tap upw ard on
itw ith the palm sofyourhands.Be carefulnotto dam age
the sphere.
2. Loosen the allen screw in the low erroller,rem ove the
black drive-beltand pulloutthe spindle.The rollerand
beltcan now be rem oved.
3. The generatoris now ready forcleaning.U se an ordinary
w indow cleaning solution (am m onia w aterin alcohol)for
cleaning the rollers and the acrylic pillars.W ash the belt
in a w eak solution ofhousehold detergentand dry it.
W hen the beltis dry,itm ustbe pow dered w ith talcum
pow der
R eassem bly
1. Rem ountthe beltand the top roller
2. Tighten the beltand rem ountthe low erroller.
N ote:itisofthe utm ostim portance to have the sm ooth side of
the beltinw ards againstthe rollers.
3. Clean the beltim m ediately afterrem ounting it,use a cloth
m oistened w ith acetone.Be carefulw hile using acetone
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C leaning and adjustm ent
asthe pillarsand rollersare notresistantto strong organic
solvents.
4. A djustthe beltto be flush by m eans ofthe tw o plastic
screw s on top ofthe pillars.
5. Yourgeneratorshould now be in fullw orking condition,
ifnotthe procedure should be repeated.
Ifthe Van de G raaffgeneratordoesnotw ork properly,the rea-
sons m ay be:
1. Sphere,insulator,orband are dirty.
clean the sphere,the band,rollers,and the insulators w ith a
clean softcloth.Ifthey are very dirty,alcoholoracetone m ay
be used.Ifthis does notim prove the operation ofthe genera-
tor,pow derthe band w ith talcum pow derafterithas been
carefully cleaned and allow ed to dry.W hen cleaning the band
w ith alcoholoracetone,dissolved dirton the inside ofthe
band can stick to the rollers,and they should be cleaned as
w ell.
2. The band is conductive.
The band should be replaced.Please note thatreplacem entof
the band is norm ally required after5 to 10 years ofuse,and
should include a carefulcleaning ofthe otherparts.
To replace the band:
a rem ove the sphere by sliding itvertically upw ards.
b rem ove the uppershaft,w hich has a slotin the end fora
screw driver.
c the upperrolleris rem oved and the band is pulled aside.
loosen the allen screw in the centerofthe low erroller.
The low ershaftcan then be pulled outand the old band
rem oved.
d Installthe new band by follow ing these steps in reverse
order.
W hen installing the sphere,rem em berto press itdow n far
enough thatthe low eredge w illbe flush w ith the low eredge
ofthe round disc.
Ifthe length ofthe spark is too shortthe reason m ay be a con-
tinuous discharging ofthe sphere.The discharging can be
caused eitherby dirton the sphere surface orthatthe dom e is
notflush w ith the coverplate.The easiestw ay ofdetecting the
cause ofthe discharge is to run the generatorin a dark room .
The hum idity ofthe airm ay also influence the length ofthe
spark.
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M odel N o. S F -9722 S pecifications

Specifications Technical S upport

D iam eter ofthe 220 M M . Forassistance w ith any PA SCO product,contactPA SCO at:
sphere
A ddress: PA SCO scientific
Spark length 80-100 MM 10101 Foothills Blvd.
O peration voltage 230 or110 VAC Roseville,CA 95747-7100
Phone: 916-786-3800 (w orldw ide)
Totalheight 560 MM.
800-772-8700 (U .S)
W idth 220 MM. Fax: (916)786-3292
D epth 280 MM. W eb: w w w.pasco.com
Em ail: support@ pasco.com
W hen using the Van de G raaffgenerator,electrom agnetic
signals are created w hich can interfere w ith otherelectronic Lim ited W arranty
equipm ent,e.g.gauges,com m unication equipm entand com - Fora description ofthe productw arranty,see the PASC O catalog.
puters.U se the Van de G raaffgeneratoronly in a location,
C opyright
w here such equipm entw illnotbe affected. The PASC O scientific 012-07229E Van de G raffG eneratorInstruction
Sheetis copyrighted w ith allrights reserved.Perm ission is granted to
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V an de G raff G enerator T echnicalS upport

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