I'm getting a wimshurst machine for myself soon, I want to start looking into making an Electret Electrophorus and electrostatic engine.

For those that want to play with hv static, but don't have wimshurst - put alfoil sheet on your tv, it will develop positive static charge.

However I want much higher voltage.

For the price of switching, as Dmonarch has pointed out, an Electrophorus charged once can impart charge to a metal disk many times.

Very interesting.