Re: Van de Graaff /Pelletron (fwd)

[Steven Roys <sroys@xxxxxxxx>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 18:51:15 EST
From: Esondrmn@xxxxxxx
To: hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Van de Graaff /Pelletron (fwd)

In a message dated 1/21/04 8:59:17 PM Pacific Standard Time,
hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx writes:


> Hi everyone,
>
> No discussion about VDGs would be complete without a mention of the
> giant unit up at Boston's Museum Of Science.  It was originally built
> as a tandem unit 1931 for use as a particle accelerator.  The columns
> are six feet in diameter and the terminals are fifteen foot
> spheres...large enough that a researcher could work inside each
> terminal(!).  At some point the guts of the second unit were removed
> and it was merged with the first into a single VDG with two columns
> (one empty).
>
> Anyway at the museum they put on a great electrical show throughout
> the day, and in addition to demonstrating a big jacob's ladder and a
> pair of BIG Tesla coils, they put this VDG through its paces.  The
> single belt goes down into the basement, and unit makes some really
> impressive bolts that sound equally impressive.   The museum has a
> very interesting site with a lot of photos and history of the unit:
>
> http://www.mos.org/sln/toe/
>
> Has anyone else on this list seen this show?  I have some very short
> quicktime movies of the VDG which I can post in a temporary directory
> if anyone is interested.  If you are ever near Boston it is
> definitely worth a visit.
>
>
> Zap!
>
>
> Charles Brush
>

Charles,

A sad story.  We were in the museum a few years ago.  Very nice equipment.
Unfortunately, the next demonstration was scheduled for an hour (or two, don't
recall) away and we could not stay.  I would liked to have spent all day in
there.

Ed Sonderman
Spokane, WA