Desco - Questions And Answers

If I spin a low dielectric cylinder brush inside a high dielectric tube at a high rate of RPM using only high velocity air pressure, is it possible to generate a significant amount of ionized air using charged inductance of polymers in close contact with each other, or do they need to contact each other to create triboelectrification? Do I need to somehow introduce a discharge electrode into the configuration even though there is no external power source (could possibly put electrode(s) by the air exit between the core of the cylinder brush and the tube?) Thanks for the help.

You may be able to generate some amount of voltage between the brush and tube, but would need a way to extract this energy for more productive use in air ionization. Air ionization through corona discharge occurs when a breakdown in the air from a sufficient electric field focused at the tip of the emitter. I doubt this would occur from the brushes.

You might want to study how a Van de Graaff generator works, what you are
trying to accomplish is similar to this type of generator, but you do need an
electrode to store the generated charge onto.

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