A “water bridge” sustained with about 9 kV DC with two drinking glasses filled with deionised water. It extends about 12 mm.
“Continue reading” for explanations and photos or weird water and high voltage effects.
This “water bridge” experiment (from 2007) was published in Physics.org in Oct 2007 and I replicated it below soon after.
There is varying width due to some instability.
Apparently 100 years ago they used a Whimhurst static machine to provide the voltage. A small silk thread across the lips of the glasses provides the starter which then slides out when the flow starts. There is apparently two way flow through the bridge determined by putting dye in each side.
The upper photo above shows the full set-up. The lower photo shows corona between the two glasses (no water bridge here) in a 30 second time exposure. The sparks are very faint and this experiment is about electrostatic attraction rather than current flow due to the insulating properties of deionised water
The photos above show the effect of an electrode with 4 kV DC across it when dipped in the water. There is no sparking since pure deionised water is an insulator. The mutual attraction of opposite charges creates a spike rising up from the water to meet the electrode. Almost ferrofluid like. The yellow tip is a reflection of the yellow base which is my theme background color in most of my photos. This spike is stable although there is a moderate water flow around it. Wire width is 0.09 inch (2.2 mm).
Room for more experimentation:
Demonstrating the central core and outer annular flows in different directions.
Increasing length by increasing voltage.
Related pages
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External links
Physics of the water bridge – YouTube
Physics.org
Photo Date: October 3, 2007