An
electrostatic generator, or
electrostatic machine, is an
electromechanical generator that produces
static electricity, or electricity at
high voltage and low
continuous current. The knowledge of static electricity dates back to the earliest civilizations, but for millennia it remained merely an interesting and mystifying
phenomenon, without a theory to explain its behavior and often confused with magnetism. By the end of the 17th Century, researchers had developed practical means of generating electricity by friction, but the development of electrostatic machines did not begin in earnest until the 18th century, when they became fundamental instruments in the studies about the new science of
electricity. Electrostatic generators operate by using manual (or other) power to transform
mechanical work into
electric energy. Electrostatic generators develop
electrostatic charges of opposite signs rendered to two conductors, using only electric forces, and work by using moving plates, drums, or belts to carry electric charge to a high
potential electrode. The charge is generated by one of two methods: either the
triboelectric effect (friction) or
electrostatic induction.