Extreme High Voltage: Electrostatic Powered Magnetic Levitation Motor
WARNING: FLASHING LIGHTS and FLICKER. Please DO NOT WATCH if you have epilepsy, or other seizure disorder, or are sensitive to flicker or flashing lights. Look away if you feel nauseous!
ERRATUM: I forgot in the video that the Power Supply is a NEGATIVE supply. So the Ball electrode is grounded to the case of the supply but it’s an Anode electrically, and the Brush electrode is the output of the supply but it is a Cathode electrically. This actually makes more sense as it is Cathode spray that puts charge most effectively on the rotor edge surface.
I use the maglev bearing system I showed earlier to make an electrostatic motor, by adding a thick disc of non-conductive G-10 glass-filled epoxy circuit board material. This makes a rotor that can provide a torque when electrostatic electrodes are positioned at its edge. A 6.2 kV, 1.2 mA power supply provides the high voltage spray.
Even with the poor balancing and lack of concentricity, the motor is still able to reach 3700 RPM as tracked by the StroboTac. After I made this video I put a drop of Marvel Mystery Oil on the pencil point and got up to 4170 RPM before the instability set in. With some care as to balancing I’m sure I can get much faster before something breaks or flies off.