Disclaimer:

Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website.

The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources.

Further information regarding legal liability in use of demonstrations and labs will be found on the web site Injuries in School/College Laboratories in USA.

The University of Iowa Disclaimers:  University of Iowa Disclaimer All Rights Reserved..

Interestingly enough the handle will turn in the same direction that you were turning it when you charged the capacitor.  Details of why this is can be found in the file.

A subtle comparison can be made between an inductor and a capacitor using a hand crank DC generator.  When connected to the capacitor, the generator is hard to crank at first and gets easier to crank as you continue.  When you quit cranking the generator will keep going on its own in the same direction as you cranked it.   Do the same with an inductor and it gets harder to crank as you continue and when you let go, it stops and turns in the opposite direction you originally cranked it.