Van de Graaff generator
Other electrostatic machines like the Wimshurst machine or Bonetti machine work similarly to the Van De Graaff; charge is transported by moving plates, disks, or cylinders to a high voltage electrode. For these generators, however, corona discharge from exposed metal parts at high potentials and poorer insulation result in smaller voltages. In an electrostatic generator, the rate of charge transported (current) to the high-voltage electrode is very small. After the machine is started, the voltage on the terminal electrode increases until the leakage current from the electrode equals the rate of charge transport. Therefore, leakage from the terminal determines the maximum voltage attainable. In the Van de Graaff generator, the belt allows the transport of charge into the interior of a large hollow spherical electrode. This is the ideal shape to minimize leakage and corona discharge, so the Van de Graaff generator can produce the greatest voltage. This is why the Van de Graaff design has been used for all electrostatic particle accelerators. In general, the larger the diameter and the smoother the sphere is, the higher the voltage that can be achieved.
Neural engineering
Neuroprosthetics are devices capable of supplementing or replacing missing functions of the nervous system by stimulating the nervous system and recording its activity. Electrodes that measure firing of nerves can integrate with prosthetic devices and signal them to perform the function intended by the transmitted signal. Sensory prostheses use artificial sensors to replace neural input that might be missing from biological sources (He 2005). Engineers researching these devices are charged with providing a chronic, safe, artificial interface with neuronal tissue. Perhaps the most successful of these sensory prostheses is the cochlear implant which has restored hearing abilities to the deaf. Visual prosthesis for restoring visual capabilities of blind persons is still in more elementary stages of development. Motor prosthesics are devices involved with electrical stimulation of biological neural muscular system that can substitute for control mechanisms of the brain or spinal cord. Smart prostheses can be designed to replace missing limbs controlled by neural signals by transplanting nerves from the stump of an amputee to muscles. Electrodes placed on the skin can interpret signals and then control the prosthetic limb. These prosthetics have been very successful. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a system aimed at restoring motor processes such as standing, walking, and hand grasp.