Worlds Largest Bonetti Machine - Revival 2021 at FSW

This was a "passion project" of mine. I'm finally letting it go after more than 10 years of storing it and moving it around. I'm pleased to say that it has been sold to someone who understands electrostatic devices at a much higher level than I do. This will allow me to focus my attention, my time, and my space toward making new exhibits, running the Physics Bus, and the Free Science Workshop.

[@francescotrevisan4453]

A properly tuned Bonetti machine in a dry room can create sparks that are about 1/3 the diameter of the disks. This machine has very low performance. A Bonetti electrostatic machine accumulates charge in layden jars (High Voltage Capacitors) so the sparks can be very intense

[@bencetoth8540]

I definetely will build a bigger one more fingers on, connecting with a windmill

[@feijojr]

I was the one that supported Eric during the project and construction of this large bonetti machine! 😁
video at my website: czcams.com/video/DZWr0DgYCdg/video.html
my (smaller) Bonetti machine in action: czcams.com/video/iuoE0XDVYVw/video.html

[@feijojr]

When we will do some other niceproject, Eric?👊

[@PhysicsFactory]

@@feijojr Luiz! So good to hear from you, my friend! It is probably best that I keep my next project small. I didn't mention it in the video, but at a certain point in revitalizing the machine I blew a hole right through my capacitors. It sounded like a gunshot! Wow, so many joules that must've been. My next electrostatic project will surely be something that's safe enough to be on display for kids. Maybe an electrostatic motor or something. My email these days is still physicsbus. The Yahoo one still works, but these days I mostly use same thing at Gmail. Hope all is well in Brazil! Still hope to visit there sometime.

[@quantumenergysolutions9128]

Is it sold now ? How much was/is it?

[@MisterBonetti]

The capacitors are either not working at ALL or woefully inadequate, I would imagine that you need a total capacitance of 1 nF for that machine meaning two 2 nF Leyden jars. Always the small ball needs to be positive and the large negative. Since you can NEVER guarantee the startup polarity you need both on both sides of the machine.

[@bencetoth8540]

What if you connect this machine with a magnetic DC generator? It will become more efficent?

[@magx1]

It’s possible to determine the startup polarity. The startup polarity will always be the same for a given source. For example, if a section of PVC pipe is charged by rubbing with a paper towel before holding the pipe opposite one of the top neutralizer combs, the output terminal on the side opposite this neutralizer comb will always be positive. For any given charge polarity that is used to start the machine, the machine will always start with the same output polarity.

[@MisterBonetti]

@@magx1 if the machine needs to. E started, it will ALWAYS start in the same polarity of course. A well built machine will self start for days, sometimes weeks or months after initial startup (Bonetti). Some like mine will reverse startup polarity each and every time the machine is turned on and it self starts. Again the self starting happens due to residual charge stored on the discs, not due to polarizing opposite some external charge source like on a dead start. Mine started to do this after I replaced all my blade neutralizer combs with stainless steel thread instead of blades.The machine began self starting even after seemingly dead for weeks sometimes, and when truly dead would go for weeks and months without a cold start, the down side is this reversal each and every startup when self starting.

[@magx1]

@@MisterBonetti That's very interesting. Would it be accurate then to think of your machine as an amplifier with extraordinarily high gain, or would the analogy be irrelevant?

[@MisterBonetti]

@@magx1 I think its irrelevant, although since all these machines are voltages multipliers that multiply voltage to infinity (only after a minute fraction of second the machine is already leaking too much to continue the multiplication), so I guess from that point of view your analogy is spot on. They are voltage amplifiers for sure. Part of the reason for the reversal of startup polarity on mine only when it self starts, is that the disc pairs do not lose charge at the same rate, if you looked at my two current reading videos I showed how the inner sections return currents of 4i and the outside facing two discs return 2i, besides the angled neutralizers the extra current from the internal discs is that the close spacing of the disc pairs acts a shield preventing the electrons from flying off as easily to the surrounding air. This probably means the inner discs lose charge at a lower rate than the outer discs as well. The polarity the machine will start up at depends on the ratio of charge imbalances, one disc pair can throw the whole thing off, while a single paired machine would never exhibit the problem.

[@kiwiresponse]

Will it not be yet enhanced buy rubbing a higher charge onto it, either from a piece of e.g. Styro or a charge built up from a sectored machine?

[@MisterBonetti]

NO

[@magx1]

Did you use acrylic or polycarbonate to make the discs?

[@PhysicsFactory]

Acrylic. Plexiglas brand. Donated by the Altuglas company. It rocks.

[@bencetoth8540]

I just wondering why schools didnt teach about this generator