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The large electrostatic generator (Dutch: ''Van Marum electriseermachine'') is a large handcrafted electromechanical instrument designed by
The device is a larger version of a similar model built in Adolphe Ganot (translator: Edmund Atkinson) on the Wilhelm Holtz elektriseermachine
Elementary Treatise on Physics: Experimental and Applied, 4th ed. Wm. Wood and Co., 61 Walker Street, N.Y., N.Y., 1870, page 634, fig. 479 Van Marum himself became curator of the physics cabinet at Teylers in the same year the instrument was ordered to be made. He used it again and again in laboratory lectures to the public and continued to make excursions with his smaller model, which he finally sold to the museum for 120 guilders in 1790.
The large electrostatic generator (Dutch: ''Van Marum electriseermachine'') is a large handcrafted electromechanical instrument designed by Martin van Marum
Martin(us) van Marum (20 March 1750, Delft – 26 December 1837, Haarlem) was a Dutch physician, inventor, scientist and teacher, who studied medicine and philosophy in Groningen. Van Marum introduced modern chemistry in the Netherlands after th ...
and built by John Cuthbertson in 1784 for the Teylers Museum
Teylers Museum () is an art, natural history, and science museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. Established in 1778, Teylers Museum was founded as a centre for contemporary art and science. The historic centre of the museum is the neoclassical Oval ...
in Haarlem, where it forms the centerpiece of the instrument room. The concept of an electrostatic generator
An electrostatic generator, or electrostatic machine, is an electrical generator that produces ''static electricity'', or electricity at high voltage and low continuous current. The knowledge of static electricity dates back to the earliest ci ...
was new, and the battery (array) of leiden jar
A Leyden jar (or Leiden jar, or archaically, sometimes Kleistian jar) is an electrical component that stores a high-voltage electric charge (from an external source) between electrical conductors on the inside and outside of a glass jar. It typi ...
s was the largest ever built (only one of the 4 sets of leiden jars is on display to conserve space). The two glass disks of the triboelectric generator (friction generator) are 1.65 meters in diameter, and the machine is capable of generating a potential of 330,000 volts.
History
The device is a larger version of a similar model built in Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
by Gerhard Kuyper in 1774 for physics student Martin van Marum, who used it to make a name for himself in the study of electricity with his lectures and demonstrations.
It was Van Marum's dream to create a larger version, and he applied to the Teylers Stichting
The Teylers Stichting (English: Teylers Foundation) is a Dutch foundation founded with the heritage of the Dutch 18th century cloth merchant and banker Pieter Teyler van der Hulst to support the people in need and encourage worship, science and ...
in 1783 for funding to create such a large instrument in the hope that it would add a valuable contribution to the science of electricity. On April 11 of that year his request was granted, and on May 7 Cuthbertson was employed who finished the device a year later and it was proudly installed on Christmas Eve. The machine performed above expectations and was only modified a few times to prevent leaks of the static charge. The study of electricity leakage led to many insights in the study of electricity. The machine was last modified in 1791. For the friction, cushions were used as an improvement over the mercury bath used in the earlier model. For a complete description of the electrostatic generator, an explanation was produced in 1868 by the Parisian author Adolphe Ganot
Adolphe Ganot (born 1804 in Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort ( oc, Ròchafòrt), unofficially Rochefort-sur-Mer (; oc, Ròchafòrt de Mar, link=no) for disambiguation, is a city and commune in Southwestern France, a port on the Charente ...
(1804-1887).Elementary Treatise on Physics: Experimental and Applied, 4th ed. Wm. Wood and Co., 61 Walker Street, N.Y., N.Y., 1870, page 634, fig. 479 Van Marum himself became curator of the physics cabinet at Teylers in the same year the instrument was ordered to be made. He used it again and again in laboratory lectures to the public and continued to make excursions with his smaller model, which he finally sold to the museum for 120 guilders in 1790.
References
* "Tot de vonken eraf vliegen : statische elektriciteit in beweging van Teyler toen tot TNO nu", G.A. van de Schootbrugge, TNO, 1985, {{ISBN, 9789067430692 Teylers Museum Electrical generators Electrostatics Historical scientific instruments