Construction
The SMOT consists of a non-magnetic inclined plane, 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.
Read more about this topic: Simple Magnetic Overunity Toy
Famous quotes containing the word construction:
“No real “vital” character in fiction is altogether a conscious construction of the author. On the contrary, it may be a sort of parasitic growth upon the author’s personality, developing by internal necessity as much as by external addition.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“There’s no art
To find the mind’s construction in the face.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“When the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service. They will become flatterers instead of legislators; the instruments, not the guides, of the people.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)