How a Wimshurst Machine Works

How a Wimshurst machine works, a complete explanation of how this very popular electrostatic generator works. Includes electrostatic, inductive charging, the neutralizer bars, collectors, Leyden jars and the spark gap.
This video was made possible in part by these Patreon supporters:
Dimitrij Greco / taran72
Jonathan Rieke
Printable Science
Robert Büchel
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Here are the videos that use Wimshurst machines:
How to Make Corona Motor (v2) aka Electrostatic Motor/Atmospheric Motor
• How to Make Corona Mot...
Franklin's Bells - How to Make and Demonstrations
• Franklin's Bells - How...
Hand-Cranked Laser - TEA Laser Powered by Wimshurst Machine
• Hand-Cranked Laser - T...
Ball Cyclotron/Electrostatic Accelerator How it Works/Making
• Ball Cyclotron/Electro...
Smoke Precipitator - Measuring Voltage & Demos
• Smoke Precipitator - M...
Handheld Wimshurst Machine
• Handheld Wimshurst Mac...
Wimshurst Machine on Sparking Bike
• Wimshurst Machine on S...
See also:
How a Crystal Radio Works
• How a Crystal Radio Works
Wimshurst machine - How to make using CDs
• Wimshurst Machine - Ho...
3D modeling and animation done using Blender 2.71.
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[@phzzxguy]

One of the clearest and best-animated science videos I’ve seen. Fantastic!

[@matthewanipen2418]

I was about to run away from this video half way through. So many educational vids like this go from simple elementary explanations to quantum physics equations in a matter of seconds. But this video was a steady incline of new information that even I could grasp after a few drinks. Thank you so much for this!

[@sciencehour9476]

So finally after 2 years, the video is here!

[@RimstarOrg]

Yup! I wrote a Hackaday article about it last year and that lead me to new ideas that made me try again.

[@daynawithawhy]

@@RimstarOrg Where were you when I was in high school? If you'd been around to explain it then I might actually have passed sciences and physics

[@foodies6649]

Wowww......

[@zp944]

These have existed for like 50 years. If you really wanted to know how they work, you could have just Googled it

[@samancor3271]

And 4 years later it’s still being viewed

[@TechsScience]

It deserves millions of views

[@caiolira09]

Dear Steve, I just wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude for the incredible educational content that you create on your channel. As someone who has always been fascinated by the world of physics and technology, your videos have been an invaluable resource for me in expanding my knowledge and understanding of these subjects. Your ability to break down complex concepts and explain them in a clear and concise manner is truly remarkable, and your passion for these topics shines through in every video you create. I am constantly amazed by the depth and breadth of your knowledge, and I have no doubt that your work has helped countless others, like myself, to deepen their appreciation for the wonders of the universe. Thank you for all that you do, and for your unwavering commitment to educating and inspiring others. Your contributions to the world of science and technology are truly immeasurable, and I feel fortunate to be able to learn from you on a regular basis. With sincere thanks and admiration, Caio Cesar.

[@verdatum]

Going into this video: "Hey, no fair. You've already explained how a Wimshurst machine works" Watching this video: "Oh. Wait. Nevermind. This one is GORGEOUS." Beautiful job. Good editing, incredible animation, loved it.

[@SadamFlu]

thank you so much for all of your hard work to get me to understand electricity on the fundamental level. I really appreciate this channel a lot.

[@moschettiflavio3635]

I never thought such a complex subject could be explained so well. Good job Man

[@RimstarOrg]

Thanks. It didn't happen often but every now and then I had the time to do a video with a thorough explanation like this. Another is one about how a crystal radio works kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zl6zgZSoiNKqqqc Thanks for watching!

[@claricegr]

Thank you very much for this video! Im from Brazil, and work in Musem of Arts and Trades, in Belo Horizonte. Here have a Wimshurts machine and i needed to understand better how works, and this video helped me so much! I really love it! Perfect explanation, i am sending for all my collegues, thanks!!

[@festinalente8354]

Thanks for explanation. It is clear and precise. Very amazing and beautiful. Saludos desde España.

[@micahakervold]

Thank you so so much for taking the time to make this video, and all of the others that you’ve posted!

[@francishosey551]

I am so greatful for this great video with the perfect balance of explanation and observable reactions happening. Thank you I have only been able to get this with this video

[@notny411]

Probably the best WH explanation I've ever seen! Great job! And thank you! Wow that was good graphics too!

[@achachm]

So well explained! your animations really help

[@RimstarOrg]

Thanks! You've made so many things that I can't remember if you've made a Wimshurst machine. That might be an idea for you.

[@quantumellon]

Thankyou very much for that informative video on the basic construction of a wimshurst machine. I am an electronic engineer and have always been fascinated by this device ever since childhood when I used to see those old 1950s Frankenstein movies where they had huge ones made to show massive sparks which probably couldn't have been achieved and also jacobs ladder sparks which would have been unfeasable using them. But in all those years even though I understood the principle behind how the charge was accumulated, I never took the time to discover how they actually were constructed. I'm retired now and plan to make a big one with the best insulators I can find and see what I can do with it...

[@monkeydreammonkeydo6612]

Great video with very clear graphics. Thanks for creating and sharing this!

[@CondensedComments]

Wow!!!! Amazing demonstration, thank you (thank you!) so much for taking the time to do all this! It's so much fun I am so excited to one day build one of these to experiment and play around with they are so cool!

[@Raya_0009]

Please don’t stop what are you doing 🙏 it’s really excellent work 🎩🎩🎩

[@Mysteria9]

Fantastic explanation and illustration, thank you!

[@calcaware]

That was a lot more detailed than I was expecting. Thank you.

[@madsencc]

Excellent video. Best and most thorough explanation I've seen. Thank you.

[@modernmirza5303]

This is one of the best science videos i have seen so far.

[@project-unifiedfreepeoples]

I offer my sincerest gratitude for giving me a greater understanding of this aspect. May peace and prosperity be upon you always.

[@738polarbear]

ABSOLUTELY crystal clear SUPERB explanation . BRAVO indeed.

[@eugenehvorostyanov2409]

Perfect explanation. Thank you, sir.

[@ian6083]

Such a great explanation. Thank you very much!

[@jonni2734]

You explained it pefectly!!! Awesome video!!

[@odysandy]

best explanation ever, when it comes to physics, other dont explain as good as you

[@chrisb9841]

Outstanding, excellent! Thank you very much!

[@TubeNotMe]

Great! Very clear and thorough presentation. I like to know the principles behind the function of things like this.

[@AnthonyFrancisJones]

Brilliant explanation of a simple looking piece of apparatus but not one that is easy to explain in a hurry!

[@jimdelsol1941]

Wow, incredibly well made video and very informative. Thank you very much !!

[@enmanuelbencosme1031]

Amazing explanation

[@norvusordoseclorum]

Excellent content. Love the detailed animations

[@olimuppo]

What a great explanation! Thanks.

[@emils-j.3586]

Brilliantly explained.

[@pici24]

Nice video, good explanation ! Thank you for sharing !!

[@jaydencrimsoneverett6731]

This is amazing, Thanks for explaining this marvellous piece of machinery, It helps my research.🙏👍👍

[@peterismobiel]

Excelent explanation!

[@udhi-_-]

Awesome explanation, and 3d model!

[@arnavkumar3060]

I like how you used a capacitor to represent the spark gap.

[@anisotropicplus]

Great video and description!

[@kshitijkumar4118]

Nice video sir... Very easy to understand.. Thank you

[@daroniussubdeviant3869]

nice. that really helped me understand. thank you.

[@svenpetersen1965]

Great explanation and awesome animation. Well done!

[@RimstarOrg]

Thanks!

[@carolineee359]

Thank you for your great video!

[@selwild2050]

Impressive. Cette explication est impressionnante de clarté.

[@raviudayjadhav6930]

Nicely explained

[@bobthaden4331]

I got my first Wimshurst machine (and a Morris & Lee VDG) from Edmund Scientific about 50+ years ago. I've have many books and seen this explanation many times, however your presentation is by far the best I've encountered. Thanks.

[@RimstarOrg]

Thanks. When I made it, I set out to make another video which I could be as proud of as my How a Crystal Radio Works video kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zl6zgZSoiNKqqqc They take a lot of work but are worth it.

[@user-sq6xv9yn3d]

Thanks for explanation.

[@jeecodetv]

wow this is awesome! i'm planning to buy this one for my lab.

[@aero_pilot923]

wow really good explanation! I've always wondered how that worked. I've heard in the invention of X rays, the Wimshurst was used to generate high voltage for the first X-ray tube - still somewhat in its experimental stage

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Hey Amigo nice to see this video again...the Wimshurst video you made last time was one of the best !! I even tickled you to make an '' N machine '' after that i remember!

[@RimstarOrg]

That's strange. You're the second person to say they've seen another Wimshurst machine explanation by me but this is the first time making one that I can recall. I made a start a few years ago but didn't get past the intro. As you can imagine, it was a monumental amount of work. I also wrote a Hackaday article but that's all.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

yes i do agree this video was the epitomy of explanation about this device!! well done!

[@Markoul11]

Excellent video presentation! I've subscribed to your channel.

[@Brassmonger]

No one has explained it so good before.

[@CHIEF_Games]

SO well done!!

[@wesperes]

Great! I've finally got the idea.

[@cees1910]

Great video , as always. Keep the voor work up , for all oud Young people and alderly who want to learn

[@fidelcatsro6948]

wow learnt a new word today: ...alderly!!!

[@mrjohnson4970]

I thought this was great. Thanks so much for the video. Trying to get an old one working that was found disused in a back room at our school, dreadfully corroded by acid fumes and its leather belts were rotten. Further, it looks as though someone was modifying it back in the 70's and didnt complete the job. An interesting rebuild.

[@geo21821]

Brilliant explanation - much superior to others I have found on the internet. Ever since I first saw a Wimshurst machine at school, 50 odd years ago, I have been mystified by how it could possibly work. Now I know (I think). Thanks!

[@davidsteele9103]

Ditto! 45 years ago there was one stored in the back of our Science/Physics classroom. I never knew the name or what it was for - thanks for teaching us!

[@alirahimi7953]

This was awesome thanks

[@anthonyvolkman2338]

Excellent description!!!!!

[@RimstarOrg]

Thanks!

[@yaren_]

Thank you so much!

[@abdeljalilpr2033]

The best device explaination

[@whatelseison8970]

Wow! I've come across your videos from time to time and after I saw the one you made about the tea laser a few years ago I checked out most of what you had posted. You never used to really attempt to explain things in this sort of depth and always sort of underplayed your understanding of things. I have to say that your explaining in this video is not only just as good as I expected, but the animations are perfectly synchronized with the script and very clear and well done in their own right. Did you do all the CGI yourself too? In any case I'm very happy to see your channel continuing to mature beyond what was already a fascinating catalog of fun projects and demos. I'm sure the algorithm fairy will bring you at least another 100k subs by 2020 if you keep this up.

[@RimstarOrg]

Thanks! I'm glad you like it. I've done a few of these long, detailed explanation videos but I haven't done a lot because, as you can guess, they're a lot of work - 3 weeks fulltime for a single one. But I do enjoy doing them. Another one which I did a long time ago and which you might also enjoy is my How a Crystal Radio Works video kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zl6zgZSoiNKqqqc And yes, I do all the CGI too using Blender, a free 3D modelling and animation software.

[@KhadijaAcademy]

Awesome video

[@ccure_d]

amazing, thank you so much

[@moneyaccount9775]

Great video

[@mysticalsoulqc]

the fact that you explained all that is crazy. you are a miracle man. Crazy gifted. lol omg lol

[@RimstarOrg]

Thanks! It took a long time before I came up with how to explain it well, but I really wanted to do another "work of art" like I did with my crystal radio explanation kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zl6zgZSoiNKqqqc.

[@Mr3344555]

One thing my father told me, is if someone is better than you, you learn from them. I'm subscribing :P you god damn savant!

[@Dark_Matter2]

Great video ☺️

[@gristlevonraben]

Super video!

[@zaspanyflegmatyk2446]

good job, thanks!

[@vijgenboom2843]

Thanks a lot!

[@Martin3m]

THANKS !!

[@engravingoffaustspactwithm4648]

You are the best merci beaucoup monsieur

[@Laynor333]

Great explanation. Could you do the same for the Bonetti Machine please ???

[@fp1030]

Thank you it is excellent

[@maxximumb]

Another great video.

[@RimstarOrg]

Thanks.

[@flommefelix]

im here because of a band with the same name as the maschine but that was a wonderful lesson perfect midnight knowlege thank you!!

[@rodmilne9336]

fantastic explanation mate. For all those who don't get it ... its all about shed tech, when high tech was something you could build in your shed! Today high tech is microchips and programming ... difficult to build in my shed!

[@leandrolucas4897]

espectacular... gracias. es increíble.

[@thangtruongtrieu6418]

thank you very much

[@hououinkyouma1787]

thank you sir

[@SquallLion1]

excellent!

[@vansh_ty_]

Amazing

[@patrickmchargue7122]

Thanks. Ever play with a radial dirod? I remember reading about it as a kid.

[@johndoe-bq1xt]

Hello again Mr. RimstarOrg ! , Sir, I think I sort of solved the sector scraping problem. My Wimshurst Machine used four metal spikes to collect the charges. Two for one side and two for the other side. I just took a pair of pliers and removed them and replaced them with some aluminum tape shaped like a flat point that brushes up against the disks BUT wouldn't dig into them like the spikes did. Sir, after solving another problem I had I have to say that I have waaaaay better ESD than before. Its like the day I first got the machine. Good as new ! Okay, now I'm going to see if I can make a Wimshurst Machine FROM SCRATCH! The one thing this improvement to my Wimshurst Machine has taught me is that I should NEVER be afraid to experiment scientifically with Ideas and things ! If I can make a Wimshurst from scratch then I can make multiple units and drive them all with one dc motor and interconnect them with gears. At that point, "Skys' the limit" because I will be able to generate any amount of high voltage. I thank you sir for your videos, they're really helpful in mullng thins over in my mind. I hope I can talk like this with you from time to time, thank you again.

[@yosefmahmoud4958]

Nice .thanks

[@streamware7746]

Good Job :)

[@christiankandzia4884]

nice video it helped me to understand the aparatus, thank you very much! but one thing is missing a bit. the charge at the opposite sectors must become continuosly higher because otherwise it would not accumulate in the leyden jars. the fact that at the beginning it have only ONE sector charged and it influences charge separation at TWO sectors on the other plate makes the over all electric field stronger. this two charged sectors then rotate further and influence even stronger charge separation on the other side sectors and so on. so the charge separation effect adds up every time the "new/higher " charge meets the opposite neutralizer, and therefore charge becomes alternately higher on the front side and back side and cycles clockwise and anticlockwise.

[@RimstarOrg]

That's correct. The charge on the sectors builds but quite a bit. The limiting factor is the leakiness of the sectors. In the dark, they glow with corona at their sharp edges and with corona between them. You can also smell ozone. If you don't collect at least some of the charge at the collectors then it becomes hard to turn the crank due to the strong attraction between the opposite sectors which in turn is due to the amount of charge on them.

[@christiankandzia4884]

Thats impressive. I would Not think that you can feel the force on the crankshaft Wow

[@CurtWelch]

I must be slow. I don't understand how this generates a charge and why it keeps growing. All I see in the description is a lot of capacitors and wires holding charges. If you put a charge on a capacitor and then start connecting it to other capacitors the charges move and distribute but they don't grow in magnatude. They just keep getting smaller as you spread the charge over more capacitors. I can grasp how this acts as a charge "sorter" so random starting charges get sorted by the action of the neutralizer bars moving charges. But I don't get how those sorted charges can ever exceed the total starting charge. So what is the mechanism that causes the the charge to grow larger in this device? I understand the mechanical motion of the device is the source of the energy generating the charge but I don't grasp how this works. And why are the collector's pointed air gaps? Why not use another wire and brush to collect the charge? And what keeps the charge in the liden jars from returning to the disk? I don't understand why there is a one-way flow at work there.

[@ChipperTheChipster]

My friend is convinced that this device can be used as a source of free energy. "I can harness this, regulate it, and then​ store it so it can later be used to chrage my batteries!" Im not sure how to explain how that is not exactly likely. He feels he just has to start it and walk away. Then come back to full batteries. That isnt true is it?@@CurtWelch

[@Michel-Uphoff]

Great video, excellent explanation. But you have forgotten to clarify an important point: How does the tension in the Leyden jars continue to increase? After all, the electrons in the increasingly negatively charged jar must repel the electrons from the collector at some point, unless the tension at the collector keeps increasing to overcome this hurdle (and vice versa for the positive charges). The explanation for this phenomenon is hidden in the capacitor formula's: The two opposite sectors (one positively charged and the other negatively charged, in your video the ones at twelve o'clock ) together form a capacitor with a certain charge. The well known capacitor formulas are: C = εA/d and C=Q/V. Rewritten: Q/V=εA/d. (The capacity C, Farads drops out of the equation) The permittivity (ε), the surface area (A) and charge (Q) do not change (no leak assumed). Now that those two sectors at twelve o'clock are rotating away from each other, the mutual distance (d) does increase sharply. As a result, the (negative) voltage (V) across this capacitor must increase accordingly, and is always higher (lower) than the voltage across the Leyden jar. In theory, if there were no discharge at all (which is impossible) , the tension between the two jars could rise to infinity. I built a Wimshurst machine myself a few years ago. Maybe I will make a nice video with a detailed explanation concerning the build and theory. In the mean time you can see it sparking here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6Opp5Rne9J3ns0

[@oldsteamguy]

wonderful

[@tonygoldwing7247]

I Have seen that one in an Electric museum in Denmark. Tange Elmuseum

[@saskoilersfan]

It's like the first electromagnet disk player... The design is similar to USS Enterprise... The power too. Took a dream catcher .. Replaced wood with brass rings. Replaced string with coated copper wire .

[@laurentdelpech6496]

brillant!!

[@geobruce1995]

this sis gold!

[@PrinceWesterburg]

Brilliant! I never knew they where as complex as that - the ones I played with as a boy in London's Science Museum are all mahogany and brass with most of the workings hidden away. So the one on your bike - could you put a xenon strobe tube across the spark gap and have a headlight that made it look like everything was static? (pun intended)

[@RimstarOrg]

Thanks! You'd have to hide the disks in a casing too, otherwise the spinning disks would also give it away.

[@souravsuman-lnjpitchapra4268]

It helped me a lot in doing science project . Thanks

[@RimstarOrg]

You're welcome. I'm glad to hear it.

[@simonfarthing9063]

Do the discs have to exactly contrarotate or can they independently vary their rpm?

[@RimstarOrg]

Yes, they have to counterrotate for the reasons in this video. But they must also rotate such that the sectors line up when they pass the neutralizer brushed and the collectors.

[@Tetsuma16]

Very interesting! I thought it worked because of friction somewhere between disks. Such principle is difficult to guess himself