Q: Was the man who developed the electrical device that makes your hair stand on end from Alabama? A: Yes. According to the online Encyclopedia of Alabama, Robert Jemison Van de Graaff (1901-1967) was ...

Although the basic concept of electrostatic attraction has been known since ancient times, it was only in the 17th century that scientists began to systematically investigate electrostatics. One of ...

The Van de Graaff generator is a staple of science museums, to the point that even if the average person might not know its name, there’s an excellent chance they’ll be familiar with the “metal ball ...

Static charge builds up on the Van de Graaff generator dome. Many different individual demos can be done with it. The Van de Graaff can be used to charge up the hair of a Barbie doll or person. When ...

Visitors to the Museum of Science in Boston are always in for a hair-raising treat when they enter the facility’s Theater of Electricity. This small amphitheater is actually the permanent home of the ...

THE Duddell Medal for 1947 of the Physical Society has been awarded to Dr. R. J. Van de Graaff, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in recognition of the invention and development of the ...

IN the August number of the Scientific American, there is a short account of the new electrostatic generator which is being built by R. J. van de Graaff at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.