Subject: Leyden jar capacitors as source for electrostatic experiments

My daughter and I are building an  electrostatic pop bottle motor.  I have it 
working but was looking for a longer lasting power source.  TV and tin foil will 
rotate current motor about 10-30 revs before switching on/off.

On the www.eskimo.com/~billb page he says that you can fill the stator bottles 
with water and then simply put a wire inside the two bottles to connect the 
water inside and this will build a Leyden jar capacitor which should run the 
motor for a couple of minutes.  

When I do this, the output is almost nothing.  The bottle will not even
turn.  I even hooked a wire from the stator bottles foil, hooked to the
source, to the inside of its water with no performance gain.  

If I discharge the source bottle without the capacitor,  I get a large
spark.  Once I connect the water, the spark is insignificant.

Can you suggest or point the errors of my ways.

I have also seen the tesla pages and am interested in perhaps using that as a 
source if this is not feasible.


   Thanks.


       -britt shaw

Re: Leyden jar capacitors as source for electrostatic experiments