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What is a Wimshurst Generator
The wimshurst generator is an electrostatic generator capable of generating high voltages. It was invented in the 1880's by J. Wimshurst.
It is constructed from 2 rotating insulating plates. These plates have strips of conductive metal on them, similar to the image bellow; they must be evenly placed around the insulator. With a higher quantity of strips you can build up a large voltage quicker, but you are limited on how close you can put the conductors because you might lose power from arcing between the metal strips. I had this problem with my generator even though I had about an inch gap between them, but it was still able to generate enough voltage to make a decent size spark.
