Mylow gets all-magnet-motor running using off-the-shelf parts

Since Saturday, Mylow has been posting a series of instructional videos to show how to replicate his motor using readily-available parts.  Tuesday evening he got it spinning with just one set of six magnets on the rotor.  The replication race will heat up for sure.  Who will be first?

He did it!

Mylow got his next iteration of his all-magnet motor running -- using only one set of six magnets on the rotor -- something modern physics would say is "impossible," just as their models of known science predict that a bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly -- something the bumble bees haven't let stop them, any more than the rules of science have stopped Mylow from successfully replicating what Howard Johnson -- his hero -- is said to have accomplished back in 1978, receiving several patents for his design.

What is remarkable about this version is that it uses magnets readily available in the marketplace today, as described in the plans we've posted and have updated. (See magnet specs in right column.)

In all his previous working motors, the components he was using were not readily available.  The 1/2 x 1/2 x 2-inch bar magnets he was using, for example, are ones he picked up thirty years ago from Radio Shack, who long ago stopped carrying them.  And in the Stonehenge version that preceded the bar-magnet motor version, his rotor magnets came from Science and Surplus in Chicago, and are no longer available.  This has made replicating his effect more difficult than we would have thought.

Because other people don't seem to have the same gift he has to get the spacing right on a new set of magnets, no one else has been able yet to replicate his effect since he first started posting videos on March 17; and he's posted around seven different videos showing his motor turning from a stop, accelerating, then reaching an equilibrium speed.  Most recently, he posted two videos [1][2] showing his bar-magnet motor running on top of a glass table.

Graphs of the rotation speed of his recent bar magnet motor show an initial acceleration followed by reaching a steady equilibrium speed.  The departures in the graph are from camera movement and change of camera angle. (more)

But despite all that evidence, the replicators have been frustrated in their attempts to copy what he's been sharing openly, because they've not been working with the same set of tools.

However, that will be changing because not only are the magnets in his most recent version readily available, but there are quite a few people trying to replicate this who already have those very magnets.  All they need is a photo or video to see how Mylow arranged his magnets, so they can get a template, and they will be good to go.  I wouldn't be surprised if by this time tomorrow night there are a dozen successful replications from around the planet (crossing fingers).

This is a very exciting time for this project that has been quite a saga.

He told me on the phone last night that the one set of magnets pull by the stator magnets with a pull of around two pounds, which is enough to turn the rotor into the next set of five magnets, which also pull by the stator, resulting in a gradual acceleration of the motor.

He said the spacing between the bottom of the stator magnets and the top of the rotor magnets is 3/4 inch.

He tried to upload the video he shot of this last night, but YouTube was on maintenance.  Meanwhile, we couldn't help but wonder if maybe he wasn't just seeing some really good bearing action.  I know when I played with the very same assembly before (made by "Bob"), I saw some pretty remarkable things which ended up being artifacts of the bearings and gravity.  In fact early this morning, I woke up to see if Mylow had posted a video yet, and it occurred to me to post a video I shot back on April 27, to illustrate this phenomenon.

However, when I talked to Mylow this morning, it was clear from his description that he definitely has achieved acceleration with just 6 magnets. He said after he had affixed four magnets, he started noticing something "weird", and with just five magnets, they pulled in, then thrust past the stator, and made it all the way around to do it again. With six magnets, it was accelerating until the assembly was shaking to the point that he stopped it lest it be damaged or fall apart.

He told me it kind of has him freaked out, and he's hesitant to post a video showing this effect. He's concerned about the ramifications of this hitting the planet and the disruption it might cause. "When you see this thing running, it changes your life."  I reminded him that whenever a new technology is introduced, there will be some down sides, but that the benefits outweigh the potential problems. Every car that is sold carries with it the possibility of killing its occupants. But the benefits of transportation far outweigh the potential risks.

He's also concerned about his personal life. He enjoys his simple life, and doesn't necessarily savor the idea of being thrust into the limelight.

He thinks of all those guys who have been working on things like this over the years, but to no avail. I would think they would be grateful to see something actually working, vindicating what they were pursuing. Yes, there might be some jealously, wishing they had been first, but overall there will a sense of collective accomplishment, and a thrill for the future as this technology is characterized, optimized, and implemented into practical embodiments.

The primary key, as he sees it, is non-symmetry of spacing. He urges people to not space things identically, because that will not work.

Regarding his wobbling, I suggested that he put a counterbalance, like he had in some of his earlier discs (Feb.) so that the rotation runs smoothly rather than out of balance.

Hopefully, by the end of the day we'll see a video of this 6-magnet rotor spinning.

He does plan on continuing the instructional video set.

At around 5:30 pm Central, Mylow told me that he and his twin brother, Tony posted a video showing the six bar magnet motor spinning.  Tony, who is an engineer, has been a heavy skeptic on this project, but now is obviously convinced.  He and Mylow pose in front of the spinning motor.

After pushing the rotor magnets past an initial cog, they show the rotor pulling past the stator magnets with enough force to spin around and push through again, then again, picking up speed with each turn, before reaching an equilibrium speed. 
 

Here is the rotation analysis that LightRider did, showing that indeed acceleration was achieved.   The sporadic data points are from camera motion.

click for enlargement

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Photos

Looking from near center toward the edge where the stator magnets are held 3/4 inches above the rotor bar magnets..	Top view

Click images for enlargement

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See also