In this video Rick Crammond demonstrates his Hauksbee Generator:
The idea is that a triboelectric (electrostatic) effect occurs from sliding hands on glass. The voltage generated ionizes the gases in the globe, creating a blue plasma glow inside.
Our rotating globe is a pyrex lab flask containing air under a partial vacuum, is mounted on a bicycle axle with skateboard bearings, and driven by a remote-control model aircraft electric motor at up to 8000 rpm…”
Via Hacked Gadgets.
Just a friendly word of warning – while this particular device is a valid concept, be aware that the video comes from the Keshe Foundation (http://www.keshefoundation.org/) who appear to be strongly fringe-science oriented (i.e. new theories of gravity, atomic structure, and the usual stuff that appears on these sites).
Readers might also be interested in the “Plante Rheostatic Machine”, which is a purely mechanical voltage multiplier. It charges capacitors in parallel then discharges them in series, like a Cockroft-Walton multiplier does, but uses a clever rotating commutator. I’ve got some info on this machine over at http://imajeenyus.com/electronics/20110327_plante_machine/index.shtml.
Nothing in the first two minutes. Please add disclaimers to videos like this.
I noticed the X-ray effect for a second there. That would be a fun thing to reproduce in a reliable manner, without the radiation danger.