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View Full Version : Electrostatic generator: buildable?


ponkan pinoy
06-14-04, 01:53 PM
Ok, I guess the title isn't so clear, but don't know how to describe it, without being long-winded....

Basically, I'm thinking about how easy it would be to build a device that causes an electrostatic charge to build up on something, I'll call it a "collection plate" (you'll see why later). The option to pick which charge, + or -, would be nice, and maybe also a way to control the magnitude.

The basic idea is to use it to collect dust when you absolutely need as little of it as possible, such as doing a hard drive window mod. In fact, that's what brought the idea on :). In this case, you'd place the device over the hd just before you close it up, and the collection plate draws up the dust that got in, and onto the plate.

Now, I'm sure people would be nervous about playing with static around electronics. Frankly, so am I. Does anyone know how much voltage/amperage it takes to fry something? You could keep the magnitude of the charge enough so that it would attract the dust, but not so high that it's gonna cause that deadly spark. As the dust collects onto the plate, the overall charge would go more towards neutral, and you could raise it again to gather more dust (if it's there), but still keep it below that "critical" stage.

Anyway, if it's feasible, I'm sure it would make hard drive modders breathe easier.... Man, I hope it's feasible :D

daniel_dynasty
06-14-04, 01:59 PM
well if ur doin the window mod go into a bathroom and turn up the hot water in the shower and create humidity. that will take down the dust from landing on ur hdd, electrostatic generator eh.. i think u gotta charge it up with some electrity and make the dust hold.. good idea but i dont have the knowledge about building one..

Como
06-14-04, 02:09 PM
static electricity is HIGH voltage and low amperage. basically its over 10,000 volts if you can feel/see/hear a spark. enough to move dust would be about that high, and a device such as ram or a hard drive could be killed with as little as 5 volts.

i know i sound like a "static within 10 miles of a computer is ceartain death" kinda preacher or something, but thats just a bad idea.

i know hardware is more durabel than some people here think, i store most of mine in a rubbermaid conainer with no antistatic bagks or anything, just motherboard piled in with expantion cards and whatnot.
Only thing i've ever killed was a sound card, i dropped a CDROM on it and busted off a surface mount transistor.

but static to clean dust? Bad idea.

newbienerd
06-14-04, 09:38 PM
nonono static bad!!!! i think daniel_dynasty had the right idea!!

thorilan
06-16-04, 04:23 AM
they are called negative ion generators

PunkRawk911
06-16-04, 08:32 PM
It sorta sounds like you're talking about a van de graff generator as well. You know, one of those big ball things that they have at science museums where you put your hand on it and shake your head and your hair gets all frizzy and huge. They're easy to build, all you need is a motor to turn a belt with some brushes that rub it and are attached to the "collection plate". But, it's a bad idea for air cleaning. If you want to do a HD mod and really want to take care of all of the dust, turn the shower on hot in the bathroom and let the humidity do the work. And if you're really paraoid, just buy a negative ion generator so you have two things to pull dust out fo the air.

Moto7451
06-16-04, 09:27 PM
I think the best idea may be to seal your case & just install removable filters at the inlet of your intake fans. Just clean them once a month or, if you have too much time on your hands, once a week.

k3nshin
06-17-04, 02:21 AM
is what you are talking about similar to the ionic breeze? does the same job