"A Van de Graaff generator is a device capable of producing high voltages. The charge generated by contact is transferred via a conveyor belt to a hollow metal sphere, which acts as a terminal. The generator is a star attraction in science classrooms and museums, due to the educational value it has when someone attempts to explain electrostatic phenomena. A volunteer is often asked to touch it and they end up with their hair a mess."
"Whether by chance or not, in 1967, news of the death of its creator, the American physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff, offered inspiration to a couple of university students from Manchester, in the United Kingdom. Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith decided to name their musical project after him (with a couple of letters changed, just in case someone objected). Thus began the journey of Van der Graaf Generator, a band that defies easy categorization."
"I was lucky enough to interview Nic Potter, Van der Graaf's great bassist, who passed away [in 2013]. And I asked him why he left after the third album, Argentine journalist Marcelo Gobello tells EL PAIS. He replied, Because the music we were playing scared me. It was so intense and I was young and it frightened me. But don't include [this in your article]. You can include it now, Gobello shrugs, because the poor guy won't know about it now."
A Van de Graaff generator produces high voltages by transferring charge via a conveyor belt to a hollow metal sphere terminal. The device is a popular science exhibit that vividly demonstrates electrostatic phenomena and often makes a volunteer's hair stand on end. In 1967 Manchester students Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith named their musical project after physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff (with letters changed), forming Van der Graaf Generator, a band that defies easy categorization. Bassist Nic Potter said he left after the third album because the music frightened him; anecdotes include a reported UFO sighting at an Ibiza concert. Marcelo Gobello published a 2025 book about Hammill and the band.
Read at english.elpais.com
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