Safe High Voltage:
Ionizer module, Negative Ion Generators
W. Beaty 1999

Negative Ion Generators are small desktop appliances which were common in the 1970s and 1980s. They were sold as "air cleaners," and the ionized air was supposed to give health benefits.

Negative ion generators behave very similarly to Electrostatic Generators such as VandeGraaff or Wimshurst machines. All electrostatic generators produce high voltage (that's what 'static' electricity really is, high voltage at low or zero current.) A negative ion generator's high voltage is created with electronics rather than with moving parts.

A typical negative ion generator is actually a 10,000-volt DC power supply. Even better, since the high-voltage terminal must be safely touched by the users, ion generators are SAFE, current-limited, high- voltage power supplies. (This, as opposed to OZONE GENERATORS, which often are a quartz tube with mercury vapor. Only 800VAC as a tube-driver, no DC high volts.)

I found a $5 ion generator at a garage sale. It works really well as an electrostatic power supply for the Soda-bottle Motor and other "static electricity" experiments. I estimate the output voltage to be between 10,000 and 15,000 volts. This is well into the "static electricity" voltage range. I measured the output current and found 5 uA (microamperes). 5uA is totally safe, it is smaller than the current obtained from touching a flashlight battery with damp fingers. Modify your Ion generator to connect some terminals:

NEEDED:

• Negative Ion Generator
• Aluminum foil
• 2 (or emore) Alligator clipleads (Radio Shack)
• Plastic electrical tape

My Negative Ion Generator looks like this:

DEVICE IS
ABOUT 8in TALL

      Disk of
     black foam        /|
           _\|      /   |
                 /      |
              /         |
           /            |
          |             |
  SIDE    |||||||||||||||
  VIEW    |||||||||||||||
          |||||||||||||||
 (Wrapped |||||||||||||||
 in black |||||||||||||||
  foam)   |||||||||||||||
          |||||||||||||||
          |||||||||||||||
          |             |
          |_____________|

  AIREASE(tm) NEGATIVE ION GEN.

To connect an alligator cliplead to the Ion Generator, I placed a 1 inch strip of aluminum foil against the black foam disk, then wound some black electrical tape around both the foil and the top of the plastic case. (I left a tab of foil sticking out.) This pushes the foil firmly against the black foam. I then clipped my cliplead to the aluminum foil. (Fold several layers of foil together to make your strip, this keeps it from tearing.)

To verify that it worked, I plugged in the ion generator and gently touched the alligator clip with one finger. Sure enough, little sparks crackled as I brushed the clip with my fingertip.

To power the POP BOTTLE ELECTROSTATIC MOTOR , I clipped the other end of my alligator cliplead to the bare "commutator" wire of one of the stator bottles. The other stator bottle must be connected to ground. Grounded connections can be had from:

• Cold water pipe
• Faucet on the sink
• The metal screw on an AC wall socket
• The metal screw on a light switch

If your negative ion generator is significantly different from mine, it might be easier for you to connect it up. Some ion generators have a little tuft of black fur. This fur is conductive, it is the negative terminal. You can carefully clip your alligator clip directly to this fur. Or you might find a 7,500V module powered by 120VAC from online surplus suppliers. EBAY has lots of these, under $5. But they need a DC power supply between 9V and 15V.

SAFETY NOTE: use a small desktop ion generator, DO NOT use a FAN-TYPE ION GENERATOR. The negative terminal of an ionizing fan is buried down inside the plastic case. IT IS NOT DESIGNED TO BE SAFELY TOUCHED.

WHERE TO BUY?

Go see THE LIST, links to ionizer sources.

Ionizers are expensive when new. $30 - $100. They are very cheap at "Salvation Army" stores, garage sales, etc., if you can find them. The guts of ionizers are under $10 on ebay (see the list page above for links)

Or, search on ebay for some...

REAL HIGH VOLTAGE