PV Scientific Instruments

Tourbillion Corona Motor

Corona motors provide entertaining, easy-to-understand demonstrations of the conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy, and this particular corona motor is a reproduction of a self-starting electrostatic corona motor, invented in 1871 by W. Gruel. It is called a Tourbillion (pronounced as in billion dollars), which is an old English term for whirlwind or whirling object.

This corona motor is operated by using a Wimshurst machine to load the Tourbillion’s two brushes with opposite charges. The negatively charged terminal then sprays negative charges onto the cylinder’s surface. These negative charges electrostatically repel the surface of the cylinder away from the negative terminal. At the same time, positive charges on the positive terminal attract the cylinder’s surface toward that terminal. The push and pull of these opposing forces cause the cylinder to whirl faster and faster. The velocity of the spin is limited only by the physical capabilities of the cylinder, which will continue to whirl as long as the Tourbillion’s electrodes carry opposite electrical charges.
Size: Approximately 12 x 18 x 15 inches.
Collector's Model: $475.

( For more information or price quotes on museum, traveling exhibition, and theatrical models, please call us at 607 387-6752.)

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