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Van de Graaff generator
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Two 15-foot (4.6-metre) spherical terminals of the Van de Graaff direct current electrostatic generator, New Bedford, Mass., 1935. Diagram of a Van de Graaff accelerator showing labeled components including the pressure tank, high-voltage terminal, positive ion source, charge conveyor belt, acceleration tube, ground plane, driving motor, spray points, and target. Figure 1: Simplified version of a Van de Graaff high-voltage electrostatic generator (see text). Figure 8: Schematic diagram showing the ion trajectories in an accelerator mass spectrometer with application to 10Be. Negative ions of BeO leave the source and are mass analyzed with 10BeO− directed into the accelerator and 9BeO− into a Faraday cup. The molecular ions are broken up by gas and a thin carbon foil in the high-voltage terminal with much of the 10Be ionized to the 3+ charge state. The emerging ions pass through a velocity selector, are again analyzed for mass, and pass to the detector. Velocity selection is attained by a magnetic field and an electric field that are orthogonal to one another and to the beam direction; they are adjusted so that no deflection takes place for ions of the desired velocity.
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Van de Graaff generator

instrument
Also known as: Van de Graaff accelerator
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Two 15-foot (4.6-metre) spherical terminals of the Van de Graaff direct current electrostatic generator, New Bedford, Mass., 1935.
Two 15-foot (4.6-metre) spherical terminals of the Van de Graaff direct current electrostatic generator, New Bedford, Mass., 1935.

The Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic device invented by physicist Robert Jemison Van de Graaff in the early 1930s. It is a type of particle accelerator used to produce very high voltages, capable of reaching millions of volts.12

The generator operates by using a moving belt of insulating material to transport electric charge into a hollow, spherical metal shell. This charge accumulates on the shell, increasing its electrical potential. When the potential becomes high enough, it can cause electrical discharges or be used to accelerate charged particles.13

These devices have found applications in atomic research, medicine, and industry, including cancer therapy and industrial radiography.13

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  1. Robert Jemison Van de Graaff
  2. particle accelerator - Van de Graaff generators
  3. Van de Graaff generator

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