Simple Magnetic Overunity Toy
Encyclopedia
The Simple Magnetic Overunity Toy (SMOT) is 1985 invention by Greg Watson from Australia that claims to show "over-unity" energy — a route to purported perpetual motion
.
ball
is pulled up a ramp by an array of permanent magnet
s. At the top of the ramp it falls, converting magnetic attraction into kinetic energy
. A SMOT-like structure is shown in Emil T. Hartman's patent. Watson claims that a mechanism called regauging happens that allows the cycle to be repeated without the application of outside energy.
Perpetual Motion (Overunity)
has not been achieved with a SMOT. While it has been demonstrated that the ball can be cycled from the starting point of one SMOT to the starting point of a second SMOT (and third and fourth) nobody has yet cycled the ball back to the first SMOT, which would be necessary for the system to run continuously (at least, until the ball or track wore out or the magnets become too weak to overcome friction).
, a series of permanent magnets, a steel ball and a non-magnetic track (e.g. aluminium). Some version have a pair of long bar magnets in place of the series of permanent magnets. The inclined plane has a very low grade, but still enough to provide a gain in height.
The track is positioned so that it is directly in the centre of the inclined plane. Usually, the surface of the track is almost flush with the inclined plane's surface. The two permanent magnets are long bar magnets, polarized with their poles being at the long side, that are placed almost parallel to the track, but the poles nearest to the top of the inclined plane are closer to the track than they are at the bottom. The ball moves up the track because the magnetic field is stronger when the magnets are closer to the steel ball and each other, and since the net force is towards the top of the ramp, the motion of the ball is also that direction. This is why it is imperative that the magnets are constantly getting closer to the ball, in order to create a net force upwards. The track serves to keep the ball away from the magnets. If the track is not constructed carefully a slight imbalance can send the steel ball off of the track into one of the magnets.
Perpetual motion
Perpetual motion describes hypothetical machines that operate or produce useful work indefinitely and, more generally, hypothetical machines that produce more work or energy than they consume, whether they might operate indefinitely or not....
.
Overview
In the theoretical SMOT design, a steelSteel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
ball
Ball
A ball is a round, usually spherical but sometimes ovoid, object with various uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for simpler activities, such as catch, marbles and juggling...
is pulled up a ramp by an array of permanent magnet
Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...
s. At the top of the ramp it falls, converting magnetic attraction into kinetic energy
Kinetic energy
The kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes...
. A SMOT-like structure is shown in Emil T. Hartman's patent. Watson claims that a mechanism called regauging happens that allows the cycle to be repeated without the application of outside energy.
Perpetual Motion (Overunity)
Perpetual motion
Perpetual motion describes hypothetical machines that operate or produce useful work indefinitely and, more generally, hypothetical machines that produce more work or energy than they consume, whether they might operate indefinitely or not....
has not been achieved with a SMOT. While it has been demonstrated that the ball can be cycled from the starting point of one SMOT to the starting point of a second SMOT (and third and fourth) nobody has yet cycled the ball back to the first SMOT, which would be necessary for the system to run continuously (at least, until the ball or track wore out or the magnets become too weak to overcome friction).
Construction
The SMOT consists of a non-magnetic inclined planeInclined plane
The inclined plane is one of the original six simple machines; as the name suggests, it is a flat surface whose endpoints are at different heights. By moving an object up an inclined plane rather than completely vertical, the amount of force required is reduced, at the expense of increasing the...
, a series of permanent magnets, a steel ball and a non-magnetic track (e.g. aluminium). Some version have a pair of long bar magnets in place of the series of permanent magnets. The inclined plane has a very low grade, but still enough to provide a gain in height.
The track is positioned so that it is directly in the centre of the inclined plane. Usually, the surface of the track is almost flush with the inclined plane's surface. The two permanent magnets are long bar magnets, polarized with their poles being at the long side, that are placed almost parallel to the track, but the poles nearest to the top of the inclined plane are closer to the track than they are at the bottom. The ball moves up the track because the magnetic field is stronger when the magnets are closer to the steel ball and each other, and since the net force is towards the top of the ramp, the motion of the ball is also that direction. This is why it is imperative that the magnets are constantly getting closer to the ball, in order to create a net force upwards. The track serves to keep the ball away from the magnets. If the track is not constructed carefully a slight imbalance can send the steel ball off of the track into one of the magnets.