Re: Three ball electrostatic rotation (fwd)

[Steven Roys <sroys@xxxxxxxx>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 16:06:43 -0800
From: Ed Phillips <evp@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: High Voltage list <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Three ball electrostatic rotation (fwd)

High Voltage list wrote:
>
> Original poster: 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 (sus
>
> 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

	Do you mean the balls rotate about their axes?  Sounds almost like the
faster than light transmission line propagation reports!

Ed