Three ball electrostatic rotation (fwd)

[Steven Roys <sroys@xxxxxxxx>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 16:39:18 -0800
From: Richard Hull <rhull@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: HVLIST <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Three ball electrostatic rotation

I have only been signed back onto this list for about 4 months.

Has a discussion swarmed around the paper by Wistrom and Khachatourian from the Journal of Physics A regarding electrostatic torque in a three ball system?(title  "Coulomb torque - A general theory for electrostatic forces in many body systems.")

It has been rather big news in some circles.  It has created a bit of a tempest in a teapot.

The "Industrial Physicist" magazine I take has had a long running discussion in it around this supposed phenomenon.

The upshot is that two 8" metal spheres are suspended from the ceiling on fine threads.  They are placed in near contact with each other.  A third fixed ball, also in near contact with the other two, is brought up to a high voltage of about 1-5kv.  (return is to the earth).  It was noted in the paper that the two suspended balls start to rotate.

The voltage is too low for corona in a normal sense.

The paper supplies equations and data to support a weak mutual torque through the system of balls.

We thought it was impossible, as do most scientists.  However unlike other scientists who just poo-poo the idea outright, we did the experiment and, indeed, the balls do rotate.  They rotate painfully slow.  They also move to touch over a great period in our experiment.  Tim Raney and myself conducted the experiment last summer.  In spite of this we are still skeptical of the conclusion that a torque is there due to electrostatic laws, but feel that the lateral translation of the restrained (suspended) balls might have induce a reaction torque.

Finally, it is a very critical and delicate experiment to actually do.  A good, stable, low voltage variable supply is a must.  The proper voltage at various angles between the near touching spheres is critical to a few tens of volts!!!  Five to six kilovolts is way too much voltage.

Anyone seen or heard of this effect?......  done any experiments?

Richard Hull