Wimshurstn.
/ˈwɪmzhəːst/ Physics.
Wimshurst machine n. an electrostatic generator consisting of two or more counterrotating discs of insulating material mounted close together on a common axle and having a ring of metal sectors around their periphery; each disc has a stationary pair of brushes at diametrically opposite positions which are electrically connected, so that successive sectors become inductively charged as they come into contact with a brush and give up their charge later in the turn as they pass a fixed set of needle points connected to one or other electrode.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > [noun] > static electricity > instrument for generating
electrophore1777
electrophorus1777
Wimshurst machine1886
van de Graaff1934
1886 R. Wormell tr. A. von Urbanitzky Electr. in Service of Man i. 63 The Wimshurst machine and that of Carré..are the least subject to these defects of any that we are acquainted with.
1978 Sci. Amer. Apr. 159/1 I placed my candle between the oppositely charged poles of a Wimshurst machine, the ancient hand-crank generator of high-voltage static electricity.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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n.1886