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From: Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net>
Newsgroups: sci.electronics.design
Subject: Re: Solar powered electrostatic motor drone ??
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2024 22:54:09 -0000 (UTC)
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Jeroen Belleman <jeroen@nospam.please> wrote:
> On 7/18/24 23:59, john larkin wrote:
>> On Thu, 18 Jul 2024 21:49:14 -0000 (UTC), Phil Hobbs
>> <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:
>> 
>>> john larkin <jlarkin_highland_tech> wrote:
>>>> On Thu, 18 Jul 2024 19:21:23 +0200, Jeroen Belleman
>>>> <jeroen@nospam.please> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> On 7/18/24 18:42, Liz Tuddenham wrote:
>>>>>> Jeroen Belleman <jeroen@nospam.please> wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On 7/18/24 07:46, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>>>>>> Researchers build ultralight drone that flies with onboard solar Bizarre
>>>>>>>> design uses a solar-powered motor that's optimized for weight.
>>>>>>>> https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/07/researchers-build-ultralight-dro
>>>>>>>> ne-that-flies-with-onboard-solar/
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Well, ehh, unlimited flight time if any sun..
>>>>>>>> Looks funny.
>>>>>>>> 4.5V to 9 kV power converter...
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I wonder if electrostatic motors would have been as practical
>>>>>>> as electromagnetic motors if the history of motor design had
>>>>>>> taken a different turn a century or two ago.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> I think Philips dabbled with them many decades ago.  A report will be
>>>>>> somewhere in the Philips Technical Review.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Thanks for that hint. The Philips Technical Review is a treasure
>>>>> trove of interesting stuff.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I found a paper by B. Boll¥ on electrostatic motors:
>>>>> <https://pearl-hifi.com/06_Lit_Archive/02_PEARL_Arch/Vol_16/Sec_53/Philips_Tech_Review/PTechReview-30-1969-178.pdf>.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Jeroen Belleman
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> I wonder how many orders of magnitude an electrostatic motor is worse
>>>> than a magnetic motor, in some criterion like power per volume or
>>>> power per dollar. 6 maybe?
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> The main problem for outdoor use is going to be leakage, I expect.
>>> 
>>> Could be useful if you forget where you parked your car at the airport. ;)
>>> 
>>> Cheers
>>> 
>>> Phil Hobbs
>> 
>> Seems to me that an electrostatic motor will need switching of many
>> kilovolts into the electrodes. Charging and discharging, efficiently.
>> 
>> https://www.c-motive.com/
>> 
>> That alone seems messy to me.
>> 
>> 
> 
> 
> I was thinking of stacks of many stator disks with conductive sectors,
> interleaved with as many rotor disks. Running voltage would be a few
> hundred volts, maybe up to a kV. Commutation can be mechanical or
> electronic. If fed with AC, commutation is implicit, but some tricks
> would be needed to create a starting torque.
> 
> Leakage in humid condition can be dealt with by covering the disks
> with an insulating coating. The problem is not so different from
> magnetic motors

…in a universe where there are magnetic monopoles. ;)

Cheers 

Phil Hobbs 

-- 
Dr Philip C D Hobbs  Principal Consultant  ElectroOptical Innovations LLC /
Hobbs ElectroOptics  Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics