Working Principles and Uses of Electrophorus (Video)
An electrophorus, invented by Alessandro Volta, is a device used to generate static electricity. It works by frictionally charging an insulating plate with a conducting metal. This separates positive and negative charges. The charge in the insulator is stored until discharged (usually to ground). A charged copper plate can momentarily light a Bunsen burner. It works by sending electrons to and from the copper. We shall now turn to what an electronics is and the working principles and uses of an electrophorus.
What is an Electrophorus?
An electrophorus is a simple manual capacitive generator that can produce static electricity through the process of electrostatic induction. It was first developed by Swedish physicist Johan Wilcke and then improved and popularized by Alessandro Volta in the 1800s. This device is used to generate and store static charge, and it is also commonly used in demonstrations of electrical principles.
Working Principles of an Electrophorus
The basic components of an electrophorus are an insulator, a metal disk, and an insulated handle. The insulator is often made from a mixture of shellac and resin or a type of wax spread over glass. The disk in the electrophorus is a metal conductor that can be positively or negatively charged.
Static electricity is generated in the insulator by rubbing it against wool or other materials that can induce charge in the insulator through the triboelectric effect. The insulator then separates out positive and negative charges in the metal plate by virtue of its static electricity. The positive charges in the metal are attracted to the insulator, while the negative charges are repelled from the insulator.
One of the unique characteristics of an electrophorus is that it can continue to produce a large amount of electric charge even after it is removed from its container. This allows scientists to perform experiments and demonstrate electrical principles without having to recharge the device again. In fact, it is this ability to retain its charge that gave the electrophorus its name, which is derived from the Greek words elektron and phero, meaning electricity bearer.
Another interesting characteristic of an electrophorus is that it can be triggered to discharge when the metal plate is touched by a person who has not been positively charged. The electrical charge is emitted as a stream of sparks that can form the shape of a tree or other object, depending on how the insulator was constructed. The resulting sparks are known as Lichtenberg figures. These figures have helped to shed light on the physiology of animals that emit weak electric discharges, such as the electric catfish (Malapterurus) and the electric eel (Electrophorus). This led to studies of electroreception in these animals, which revealed that they use these signals to detect predators and communicate with conspecifics.
Working Principles of an Electrophorus
Applications and Uses of an Electrophorus
An electrophorus is a simple device that generates static electricity. It consists of an insulator and a metal plate. The insulator is charged by rubbing it with wool or another material that produces a static charge, and the metal plate is then placed on top of it. When the plate is touched, a spark leaps from the plate to the hand. The electrophorus can also be used to illuminate a light bulb by passing a current through it.
A more sophisticated version of the electrophorus was invented by Volta in 1800. It consists of an ebonite base and a metal disk on an insulated handle. The ebonite is charged by rubbing it with fur or other materials that produce a static charge, and the metal disk is laid on top of it. This allows the plate to acquire induced charges on its upper surface, positive underneath and negative above. Very little of the charge escapes from the insulator to the metal, however, because the ebonite is non-conducting.
The insulator, or cake, can be made of any material that will hold a static electric charge, such as glass, resin, shellac, or even plastic. The insulator must be able to prevent the metal disk from touching it, or the device will discharge. When the metal disk is placed on the insulator, it attracts the positive charges on the top surface of the insulator and repels the negative ones. If the insulator is touched, or “grounded,” it releases the positive charges to the ground and the negative charges on the bottom surface of the metal disk.
The electrophorus is a simple, inexpensive device that can be used to demonstrate many basic concepts of physics and electricity. It is an ideal tool for students who are studying introductory electricity and magnetism. It can be used to illustrate how a battery works, or to demonstrate the triboelectric effect. It can also be used to illustrate the process of charging a capacitor. The web site of the Exploratorium in San Francisco has a tutorial on making an electrophorus with aluminum pie plates and other common materials.
Working principles of an Electrophorus
Materials Used in the Production of an Electrophorus
The electrophorus is a simple manual capacitive generator for producing static electric charge by the process of electrostatic induction. It consists of a nonconducting plate (usually made of resin, shellac, or ebonite) that is negatively charged and a metal plate with an insulated handle. When the metal plate is touched with the hand of the person operating the electrophorus, it becomes positively charged through electrostatic induction. This process can be repeated over and over again without reducing the amount of charge on the ebonite plate or lowering the voltage of the sparks produced. This is why Volta named his invention “elettroforo perpetuo” (perpetual electrophorus).
A number of different materials can be used to make an electrophorus, including plastic, resin, and even animal fur. The key is that the material has to be able to hold a charge and must be very smooth. It must also be resistant to damage.
In addition to being an excellent teaching tool, the electrophorus is a great way to introduce students to basic electricity concepts such as voltage and current. It is easy to construct and can be used for a wide range of experiments. The materials needed to build an electrophorus can be found in most science stores and are relatively inexpensive.
One of the most interesting uses of the electrophorus is to observe how electrical discharges are emitted by animals. Scientists have long suspected that the potent shocks produced by catfishes and eels to capture prey were caused by an electrical discharge, but it was not until recently that the cause of these discharges was discovered. The discovery led to the study of electroreception, which is the transmission of weak electrical signals from sensory organs to other parts of the body.
The electric ray is an example of an animal that can produce strong electrical discharges to capture its prey. The electric discharges from this fish are generated in its sensitive, slimy skin and can be detected by a receptor protein located in the brain, spinal cord, and muscle. The primary structures of these receptor proteins have been determined by cloning and sequence analysis. The receptors consist of four homologous domains separated by surface loops. The first three domains form putative transmembrane helices and the fourth a P-loop that functions as the pore loop.
Working Principles of an Electrophorus
An electrophorus is a hand-held device that generates significant amounts of static electricity. It consists of an insulating plate and a metal disk. The insulator, which was called a “cake” in Volta’s day, is rubbed with wool or other materials to charge it with static electricity. The metal plate is then placed on top of the cake. The insulator and the plate attract each other and separate positive and negative charges in the metal conductor. When the metal plate is removed from the insulator, the positive and negative charges are discharged as sparks. The electrophorus can be used to demonstrate triboelectric effect and the conservation of energy.
It also can be used to show how a charged object can become positively or negatively charged by touching it. Touching the bottom edge of a candle holder with a finger will cause small sparks to jump from the flame to your fingertips. This is caused by a buildup of negative charges on the bottom edge of the candle holder. When you touch the lower edge of the holder with your finger, these negative charges are removed and the bottom edge of the holder becomes positively charged.
The electrode of an electrophorus is a piece of copper that’s attached to the insulator with a metal disk. The disk is conductive, so it can carry current from an electrical source. The metal disk is also grounded. This allows electrons to pass through the conductor and discharge the insulator. When you put your finger on the copper, these electrons are drawn to it, creating a spark between the copper and the electrophorus. The sparks get stronger as you lift the copper from the electrophorus. The energy of each spark is greater than the minimum ignition energy for vapors.
The gold leaf electroscope was a popular way to demonstrate the electrostatic properties of the body. The gold leaf was attached to a metal stem that was suspended from a glass jar. The metal stem was connected to a metal cap. If the body under test was charged, the leaves of the electroscope would diverge. If the body was uncharged, the leaves would remain close together. The gold leaf electroscope was later improved by Volta to produce lightning-like patterns called Lichtenberg figures.
