Main Entry: Van de Graaff generator

Pronunciation: \ˈvan-də-ˌgraf-\

Function: noun

Etymology: Robert J. Van de Graaff †1967 American physicist

Date: 1937

: an apparatus for the production of electrical discharges at high voltage commonly consisting of an insulated hollow conducting sphere that accumulates in its interior the charge continuously conveyed from a source of direct current by an endless belt of flexible nonconducting material