Captret - Capacitor and Electret

[hartiberlin]

Hi,
I just tested myself this setup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfbrVHWJwpc

but with just my 2700 uF 35 Volts cap.

This principle works, but you basically transfer the charge from the main capacitor
to the "stray capacitor" which is the case versus the positive pin.

When you connect the negative pin with the case, you transfer charges from there to the
case<->positive lead "stray capacitor".

The most effective range is , when the main cap has about 2 Volts and if you use a red LED with about
a threshold voltage of around 1.6 Volts.

Then you can somehow maintain the charge in the main capacitor and recharge many times
"the stray capacitor" from around 1.33 Volts to again 1.99 and then through the LED this
"the stray capacitor" is again discharged.

But after a while the main capacitor is also going down and this effect will die.

This really needs a more quantitative analysis by measuring the energies going back and forth
to see, if there is really coming more energy out this way.

ibpointless used a 10 Farad supercap for this, so this seems to hold much longer the
main voltage.
Also it might have a better "stray capacitor" than my 2700 uF cap.

Regards, Stefan.

P.S: Groundloop, great success, I also guess it would be much easier to selfbuild
a few caps. Maybe one could also use a "3 plate" cap with just build from Alifoil
with trashbin plastic foil between it.
These trashbin plastic foils are very electrostatic and if you make yourself such
a 3 foil cap and heat it up in an oil bath and apply high voltage to it during
cooling, you could make it into some kind of electret capacitor which
probably will better selfcharge later on when used like this here.

[ibpointless2]

Hi,
I just tested myself this setup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfbrVHWJwpc

but with just my 2700 uF 35 Volts cap.

This principle works, but you basically transfer the charge from the main capacitor
to the "stray capacitor" which is the case versus the positive pin.

When you connect the negative pin with the case, you transfer charges from there to the
case<->positive lead "stray capacitor".

The most effective range is , when the main cap has about 2 Volts and if you use a red LED with about
a threshold voltage of around 1.6 Volts.

Then you can somehow maintain the charge in the main capacitor and recharge many times
"the stray capacitor" from around 1.33 Volts to again 1.99 and then through the LED this
"the stray capacitor" is again discharged.

But after a while the main capacitor is also going down and this effect will die.

This really needs a more quantitative analysis by measuring the energies going back and forth
to see, if there is really coming more energy out this way.

ibpointless used a 10 Farad supercap for this, so this seems to hold much longer the
main voltage.
Also it might have a better "stray capacitor" than my 2700 uF cap.

Regards, Stefan.

P.S: Groundloop, great success, I also guess it would be much easier to selfbuild
a few caps. Maybe one could also use a "3 plate" cap with just build from Alifoil
with trashbin plastic foil between it.
These trashbin plastic foils are very electrostatic and if you make yourself such
a 3 foil cap and heat it up in an oil bath and apply high voltage to it during
cooling, you could make it into some kind of electret capacitor which
probably will better selfcharge later on when used like this here.

The trick is standing voltage. Take a 10 farad super cap and charge up to 2 volts or more if you capacitor will allow it. Now let the capacitor sit untouched and not connected to anything for at least 12 hours.

Have you tried this one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqC8nAjoAVc
I think i charged it up the night before to around 6 volts, its a 220uF 50 capacitor.

I'll be posting a new video about this spontaneous charging in capacitors on youtube in a few.

[The Observer]

ibpointless,

You said,

I'll be posting a new video about this spontaneous charging in capacitors on youtube in a few.

Are you talking about the effect of a previously charged dielectric capacitor charging itself ? (no battery connected after a dead short)

      If so, there is a name for it.
      It is called Di-electric Absorption .
      Of Course, it is explained away as some remnant charge from the previous charging.

      However, after noticing this effect in the same 330uf  300 V Cap for over a year... I think there is more to it.
                     (it charges to over 3 volts in a few weeks by itself... maybe to 1 volt in a day or so)
              --> My take is that a permanent electric field is set up which moves electrons for 'free'. <--

I appreciate all you have done, as well as the other contributors.

Best Regards,
                    The Observer

[ibpointless2]

ibpointless,

You said,
Are you talking about the effect of a previously charged dielectric capacitor charging itself ? (no battery connected after a dead short)

      If so, there is a name for it.
      It is called Di-electric Absorption .
      Of Course, it is explained away as some remnant charge from the previous charging.

      However, after noticing this effect in the same 330uf  300 V Cap for over a year... I think there is more to it.
                     (it charges to over 3 volts in a few weeks by itself... maybe to 1 volt in a day or so)
              --> My take is that a permanent electric field is set up which moves electrons for 'free'. <--

I appreciate all you have done, as well as the other contributors.

Best Regards,
                    The Observer

I see dielectric absorption is when you deplete a capacitor and the voltage bounces back up. In my experiments i try to get rid of dielectric absorption by letting the capacitor sit over night so that it can get a standing voltage in it. I don't think dielectric absorption can explain this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbn4vede2us

[Groundloop]

@All,

It is not dielectric absorption. I have already shorted out the + and - wires
on my setup and my capacitors are brand new. I have never charged them.
Still I get a repeatable charge up of voltage in the capacitors after each
discharge. Since my capacitors are shorted all the time then there is
no potential voltage difference between the two capacitor plates, only between
the two shorted wires=roll of aluminum and the aluminum can.

ibpointless2 have discovered and shared with the rest of us an important
effect about electrolytic capacitors, and I thank him for that.

Alex.