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Q.Explain the principle, construction and working of a Van de graff generator. OR State and prove Gauss theorem. Using Gauss theorem, find the electric field due to a line charge.

Nagaland NbseNagaland Board of School Education 2016Subjective· 5mImportance★★★★★
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The Van de Graaff generator continuously sprays charge onto a moving belt (via corona discharge at sharp points) and deposits it on the outer surface of a large hollow dome (via electrostatic shielding), building up potentials of several million volts.

(This question offered an internal choice; answered here is the first alternative.)

Principle. The Van de Graaff generator is based on two electrostatic facts:

  1. Action of points (corona discharge): electric field/charge density is very high near sharply pointed conductors, so charge readily leaks/sprays into the surrounding air from a sharp point at high potential.
  2. Charge resides on the outer surface of a conductor / electrostatic shielding: if a charged conductor is placed inside a larger hollow conductor and brought into contact with its inner surface, all of the charge is transferred to the outer surface of the hollow conductor -- regardless of how much charge the outer conductor already carries. This means charge can be added again and again, raising the potential without limit (until dielectric breakdown of the surrounding medium).

Construction.

  • A large hollow metallic spherical shell (the dome), mounted on top of a tall hollow insulating column (a strong insulator such as perspex/ceramic) to prevent charge leakage to ground.
  • An endless belt of insulating material (silk or rubber) running vertically over two pulleys -- one at the bottom (near ground level) and one inside the dome -- driven continuously by an electric motor.
  • A spray comb -- a comb-shaped conductor with sharp points, positioned close to the lower pulley, connected to a high-voltage DC source (a few tens of kV).
  • A collecting comb -- another sharp comb-shaped conductor placed inside the dome, close to the belt, connected electrically to the inner surface of the dome.

Working.

  1. The spray comb is maintained at a high positive potential; due to the action of points, it sprays positive charge onto the moving belt via corona discharge (ionising the air near the points).
  2. The belt, driven by the motor, carries this charge upward into the hollow dome.
  3. Inside the dome, the collecting comb (connected to the dome's inner surface) removes the charge from the belt via another corona-discharge-like action, and -- because of electrostatic shielding -- this charge moves entirely onto the outer surface of the dome, irrespective of the charge already present there. …

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