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Information About

Wimshurst Machine




The machine belongs to a class of generators called '' Influence Machine s''. These separate Electric Charge s by Electrostatic Induction , or ''influence''. Earlier machines in this class were developed by Wilhelm Holtz (1865 and 1867), August Toepler (1865), and J. Robert Voss (1880). They were more efficient than the earlier machines that worked by Friction . The earlier machines exhibited a tendency to suddenly and without warning switch their polarity. The Wimshurst machine did not suffer from this defect.

The machine is self-starting, meaning that it requires no electrical power supply to create the initial charge. It does, however, require mechanical Power to turn the discs. The output of the machine is a constant Current . The spark energy can be increased by adding a Leyden Jar , which is an early type of Capacitor suitable for high voltages.


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