Trouton-Noble-like experiments on suspended capacitors

Abstract

We performed several measurements of angular velocities on a suspended monolayer capacitor subjected to high electric voltages. The experimental setup is similar to that reported by Trouton and Noble, but which presented negative results for the rotation of the device. The measurements were made without or with electromagnetic shielding in the capacitor. We measured a small torque on the device which caused its rotation in both configurations. The runs performed with and without electromagnetic shielding covering the capacitor, more or less insulation covering the elements of setup, several changes in the space separation between those elements and the small magnitude of the monitored current in the capacitor indicates that ion wind, electrostatic interaction and also the interaction with the Earth's magnetic field via leakage current cannot explain the magnitude of angular velocity or rotation effect. We hope that the data of our experiments can contribute for enhancement of understanding of the old puzzle.