Ridiculously sensitive charge detector

Ridiculously sensitive charge detector

fetdet1.gifHere’s a simple project that might be interesting to try out. This simple circuit can detect the invisible fields of voltage which surround all electrified objects. It acts as an electronic “electroscope.” Regular foil-leaf electroscopes deal with electrostatic potentials in the range of many hundreds or thousands of volts. This device can detect one volt. Its sensitivity is ridiculously high.

0 thoughts on “Ridiculously sensitive charge detector

  1. wbeaty says:

    If that one-transistor version is a bit too simple, try the more sophisticated versions in the article links:

    http://www.precisionstrobe.com/jc/fieldmill/fieldmill.html

    http://amasci.com/electrom/sas51p1.html#Electro“>http://amasci.com/electrom/sas51p1.html#Electro”>http://amasci.com/electrom/sas51p1.html#Electro

    http://www.ece.rochester.edu/~jones/demos/ahern.html“>http://www.ece.rochester.edu/~jones/demos/ahern.html”>http://www.ece.rochester.edu/~jones/demos/ahern.html

    http://www.imagineeringezine.com/e-zine/efield-1.htm“>http://www.imagineeringezine.com/e-zine/efield-1.htm”>http://www.imagineeringezine.com/e-zine/efield-1.htm

    I love this radioactive version:

    http://www.matchrockets.com/earth/lightning.html“>http://www.matchrockets.com/earth/lightning.html”>http://www.matchrockets.com/earth/lightning.html

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