Where did robert j van de graaff live

Van de graaff generator 12th physics
When was the van de graaff generator invented
Robert j van de graaff inventions

•

Scientist of the Day - Robert Van de Graaff

Robert Van de Graaff, an American physicist, was born Dec. 20, 1901. In 1929, Van de Graaff invented an electrostatic device capable of generating extremely high voltages. Considering that his very first machine could produce potentials of 80,000 volts, it was surprisingly simple. It had a vertical moving rubber belt that ran around two glass rollers (see diagram, third image). A motor drove the belt, and there were metal brushes, like combs, at each roller. Electrons accumulated on the belt at the upper roller and were “brushed off” at the lower roller, leaving a net positive charge on the large metal sphere that surrounded the top roller. This charge would build as the belt kept turning. That was all there was to it. The lower roller was connected to ground, so if one stood on the ground and approached the sphere, it would discharge itself with long snapping sparks, which are quite dramatic, but relatively harmless, because of the low current involved.

Van de Graaff generator in former dirigible hangar, Round Hill, 1933 (MI

•

Van de Graaff generator

Electrostatic generator operating on the triboelectric effect

This article is about the electrostatic generator. For the progressive rock band, see Van der Graaf Generator.

A Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic generator which uses a moving belt to accumulate electric charge on a hollow metal globe on the top of an insulated column, creating very high electric potentials. It produces very high voltagedirect current (DC) electricity at low current levels. It was invented by American physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff in 1929.^[1] The potential difference achieved by modern Van de Graaff generators can be as much as 5 megavolts. A tabletop version can produce on the order of 100 kV and can store enough energy to produce visible electric sparks. Small Van de Graaff machines are produced for entertainment, and for physics education to teach electrostatics; larger ones are displayed in some science museums.

The Van de Graaff generator was originally developed as a particle accelerator for physics research, as its high potential can

•

January 16, 1967 - Death of Robert Van de Graaff, whose electrostatic generator made many curious about science

Robert Jemison Van de Graaff obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees in Physics from the University of Alabama, studied for a few years at the Sorbonne University (Paris, France), and received his Ph.D. in Philosophy, in 1928, from the University of Oxford (England).

Upon his return to the United States, he first worked at Princeton University and then, in 1931, joined the staff of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a research fellow. In 1934, he became an associate professor until he retired in 1960.

His research focused on nuclear physics and he invented electrostatic generators (which bear his name) that produced high voltages for the study of atomic particles. His first design, in 1929, produced 80,000 volts, but with successive modifications, in 1933, he achieved a larger generator that generated 7 million volts.

During World War II, he was director of the High Voltage Radiographic Project and, after it ended, he co-founded