First Electrostatic Motor

Much more info below –
Many thanks to Lidmotor and OUBrads, for the ideas to make such a thing.

Especially the Ion Generator, which was $3.76 with free shipping, from here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-12V-High-Output-Ionizer-Airborne-Cleaner-Negative-Ion-Anion-Generator-Stable-/371212721049?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item566e009b99
Now $3.45

The ball is a ping pong type, with 4x pieces of kitchen foil stuck on with white glue. They’re rubbish yet do still work, which was surprising. So many folks have posted very clean builds, with curved foil, that I wondered if this even had a chance.
The rotor is comprised of a magnet on the top, to hold the needle up and as such is semi levitated.
If the ball had been made better it would likely spin off and away, so being poorly made is probably a good thing !
The 2 output wires of the generator are held together with kitchen foil, which also holds 1 of the wires that leads to the ball. The other wire, from the ball, connects to the Negative of the run battery.

The large capacitor improves the running characteristics and just sits as a big thing of metal, to presumably create a better charge offset. Removing it slows down the motor.

Lots of fun was had building this and the strongest shock has been a mild tingle. As such, it’s all a lot safer than I imagined it would be…though good ventilation is a must due to the ozone produced from the plasma.

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