Static Electricity & Gold

[dwt]

After watching the YouTube clip on the Keene dry washer they have developed a machine that (from what I understand) produces static electricity and attracts gold.
So what's the relationship between static electricity and gold.
How does it attract the gold.
Can it attract gold to one certain spot or area.
Could it be used to separate gold from black sands, or are they both just as conductive as each other.
How would one actually create static electricity in highbankers/trommels or other gold recovery equipment.

Im looking forward to member responses and ideas, but please, keep them less than technical jargon, start moving into molecules and atoms and exciting them with mathematical equations like 2/9^19x44-15.1990~%<35.99999996 and you have lost me.
I'm a big fan of illustrations or even go as far as a pop up picture book!

 

[jethro]

Static electricity is a build up of electrons on the surface of an object that doesnt have a good path to earth. Generally works better on non conductive materials like plastics. I recently did some work on a machine in a plastic film factory that had a couple of big discharge wands that the operators used to remove the charge from the film before touching the polypropolene film coming off the rollers. It must have been one hell of a charge as these wands were fairly heavy duty.

Remember zapping your mates at school by rubbing your feet on the crappy synthetic carpet and charging yourself up then touching you targets arm with a biro.

I dont know what the naturally charged state of a gold partical is but your collector would need to be oppositely charged as opposites attract.

 

[AtomRat]

I think its amusing really. I have had the idea and suggestion since dropping strong neodymium magnets down alloy and copper tubes and asked if anyone had waved one over a small nugget.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14292

I bet you it would shift a small nugget. Its a process of non-ferro eddy current sorting. The magnets push the non-ferrous material with charges like Jethro is describing. I've been called an idiot several times over this

Metal detectors can also use a similar process. .. ( now comes the hatemail again )

[video=480,360]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2Rm52cUOhs[/video]

 

[Diggertom]

With a new product I've been working on for the last 6 months static electricity had been a HUGE issue for me.

It defiantly attracts gold, and black sand, though this is when it is dry, I have not tried when in liquid. It is more so the finer stuff, but anyone with a glass vial or more so, a plastic vial with gold in it can see that static electricity holds on to the fine stuff.

On the other side of things, I have played with it for the purpose of implementing it into a gold recovery system. I haven't quite worked that out yet, as larger stuff just pushes it to hard against the low strength static that I create. So any gold that is captured, is moved pretty quickly.

It isn't something that I could see working in a full sluice type situation, as there's just to much meterial fighting it.

 

[rc62burke]

Static Hey???
To me it could well work in theory ??
But I really do think it is a gimmick by Keenes to give them a little edge in the market! I have never seen definitive proof that their equipment actually produces a static charge??? we rely on what they are telling us HMMMMM I would be convinced only by an independent test to show that there is "Actually" a static charge produced.
I am not discounting that static charge would be beneficial, just saying we should not believe the advertising hype!
cheers
Lee

 

[AtomRat]

DT - have you tried using heat?

 

[AtomRat]

Hmmm.. unsure of myself there. I know heat will break magnetism but to stop static, humidity or 'wet air' may help for a solution. For example, have a wet towel that your air blows through.

 

[jethro]

heres another vid that may get the creative juices flowing.

[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/rHemCWkjnB4[/video]

 

[AtomRat]

An error occured jethro, my throat is parched.

 

[dwt]

So stopping short of taking out some crappy synthetic carpet and doing the slow shoe shuffle on it and then zapping a high banker randomly while I'm out having a dig is basically only going to wear out a pair of shoes and the crappy carpet :/
Interesting stuff about the eddy currents and non ferrous materials though AR, in the YouTube clip you put up did the bloke try it with any ferrous or magnetic materials, I saw him put on the plastic washer...(had no sound on the clip) but I didn't see anything magnetic or ferrous, or is it that eddy currents only react with non ferrous materials?

 

[dwt]

Static Hey???
To me it could well work in theory ??
But I really do think it is a gimmick by Keenes to give them a little edge in the market! I have never seen definitive proof that their equipment actually produces a static charge??? we rely on what they are telling us HMMMMM I would be convinced only by an independent test to show that there is "Actually" a static charge produced.
I am not discounting that static charge would be beneficial, just saying we should not believe the advertising hype!
cheers
Lee

Highly possible I suppose, they did state that there is 4 or so outstanding patents pending on that unit so maybe a static producing system inside the dry washer is one of those patents!
Pretty big call to advertise something if it's not at all possible, even the dude who built the 'under flow sluice' did a video clip on how it worked, can't find one for Keene! :|
However Keene have been building some great gear for quite awhile, maybe just maybe.......

Personally, if it was possible to use static electricity to recover gold (in the clean up sense) then it would be a lot easier than clean up sluicing or hours of fricking panning
Reckon I could even set one up in the lounge room..................hmmmmm,
Mrs dwt "what's this contraption in the lounge room NOW!"
dwt "now hang on a second honey, this is a new clean up thing'y jigga"
Mrs dwt, "so why are you dancing around to 20's flapper music on my carpet for?"
dwt, "just stayin in shape for you baby, just stayin in shape!"
http://youtu.be/psch9N4PmO4

 

[Baldy]

I can't see that the dry blower could create enough static to attract gold ,lots of more powerful physics in play..

 

[Tathradj]

Van Graaf generator comes to mind.
And I did not google that. LOL
Can be fairly small but generate one heck of a lot of static.

 

[Tathradj]

Maybe even call an old Laser printer into play.
But I know that there would be a lot of dangerous voltages in that,
But,
Interesting.

 

[G0lddigg@]

hey DWT i'm a bit like you mate, the science for me is the results in testing without getting too technical.

Ive actually tested this theory quite a bit with varied materials in my drywashers. Keens theory is a few components combined create the static charge that supports their claims, firstly the ribbed rubber hose with hot air produces enough static charge that is passed charge to the Sythetic fabric under the riffles, i did read that they were able to test this charge and support the claim. They also improve on this by running a plastic hopper which supports the capture tray by chains and doesn't allow the charge to leave via earth. you'll notice nearly all other drywashers including my won are fully aluminium.

Additionally and I believe this is the most significant factor they supply a heated air induction system which is plumbed from the exhaust without drawing in the actual; exhaust which can gum up your material. This signification improved ambient temps in the hose = more static and assists in drying material. This all supports the claim that their boxes hold more fine gold than any other.

I used to have an old ryobi leaf blower that was drawing air from the exhaust it was great!! seriously in cold Ballarat mornings i could run material twice and it was dusty dry, the new leaf blowers do not draw exhaust into the intake but most that ive seen do have the provision for it and a small circular cap can be removed from inside the snail tank. i did notice in some of the old keene photos that the leaf blowers they were using were grey and black like the ryobi one i had.

Ive also tested several different matts in both a keeke 141 and my own drywashers, i did find the keene matts and some 80/20 sythetics a bit bouncy and i believe i have been able to get better fine gold retention by using a more open weave semi-synthetic material which scubs dirt and allows fine gold to drop into the box and once a day i'll empty it out.

I fully believe that a static charge will assist with holding down fine gold but i dont believe for a second that its the only or the best way, one thing is for sure on a windy hot day i get zapped all the time getting into my car and i dont have gold sticking to my boots when i'm in the field

 

[aussiefarmer]

Being serious, its a great idea, but the force of moving material would most likely overpower any static hold , i often wonder when swirling a pan if there is more than gravity holding the gold in place as once it does move it travels freely for a bit , maybe its just gliding on the water between it and the pan or is it the water tension over the top that helps hold it in place ?
Being silly we could test the static theory by dragging a cat backwards through your paydirt

 

[G0lddigg@]

Sorry dwt iv3 been googling cos you got the old theory bugging me again.
Interesting lecture here
https://www.google.com.au/url?q=htt...CCowBw&usg=AFQjCNFaIRhR-zNtjalqNjlE3QI9JU1dig

 

[Danielkrupski]

I'm not sure if the static charge involves this if it is static but why when we pan we tap the top edge to separate. Is it static? Or simply gravity? I have seen gold move to the bottom when I pan

 

[G0lddigg@]

I believe that is gravity mate. Bit like throwing a lead ball with some sand into the air but upside down and rested on a surface. The tapping incorporates lift into the equation and it seems to work oretty well.

 

[aussiefarmer]

most gold floats because people cant keep there sweaty fingers out of the pan