Is Lord Kelvin's Electrostatic Generator, OU?

[antijon]

@blueplanet, yeah it's very well documented. Took me some time to find it, but I found Lord Kelvin's article describing it. http://zapatopi.net/kelvin/papers/on_a_self-acting_apparatus.html The reason I didn't believe the inline would work was because of the metal strainers used. If the strainer is located at the base of the water collector, the water would leave the strainer with a charge, killing the operation.

He states that the strainer, or funnel, must be inside the container. Strangely, he also shows that copper filings poured from a funnel with an "inductor" of zinc will produce a charge on the container they fall into.

Overall it's a very simple idea for a DIYer.