Gravity-powered device with permanent magnets

[wdford]

I have developed a conceptual plan for an over-unity device, which derives its driving forces from a combination of permanent magnets and gravity. It breaks no laws of physics, it uses well-known technology and I can see no flaw in the design. I have limited means at present, and so I would value the opinions of other knowledgeable people before I embark on the cost of hiring somebody to build a prototype. I would welcome other people to replicate it, or to improve on it if they can.

The device would consist of a simple lever with a central pivot/fulcrum, arranged so that the ends travel up and down (like a playground seesaw or teeter-totter). One side is the Power Generation end, and the other side is the Power Output end. The extent of travel up and down would be quite limited (a few inches), although the length of the lever on the Power Output end could be longer and allow for more travel if this is useful.

The Power Output end can be easily connected to a crank, pump, linear alternator or similar device to convert its up-and-down motion into useful work.

Because of the presence of magnets, the Power Generation end would need to be made of a strong non-magnetic substance (e.g. brass).

Attached firmly to the Power Generation end would be a dense mass of some non-magnetic material, such as lead or stone or concrete.

Suspended above that mass on an independent frame would be a very powerful permanent magnet, secured to prevent it from tearing itself loose.

The idea is for the powerful permanent magnet to raise the weight upwards against the pull of gravity, and then to release it to drop back down under the influence of gravity, thus causing a repeated up-and-down movement in the lever.

To provide some means for the permanent magnet to “grip” the non-magnetic mass, a small electromagnet would need to be firmly attached to the upper surface of the mass. Electromagnets can be made to be very powerful with minimum electric current. It’s important to emphasise that the mass is NOT being lifted by the electromagnet, but rather by the much more powerful permanent magnet â€" the electromagnet merely provides something for the permanent magnet to latch on to.

When the electromagnet is energised by a small current, the two magnetic forces attract each other. The permanent magnet cannot move downward, so the electromagnet and its attached mass must move upward. A bumper must be inserted to prevent the mass from smashing into the permanent magnet, and causing damage.

When the mass reaches its uppermost position, a simple mechanical switch reverses the polarity on the electromagnet. The two magnetic forces now repel each other, and the powerful force of the permanent magnet throws the mass away (downward). Gravity also pulls the mass downward, thus adding even more momentum to the motion.

Springs can be positioned at the uppermost and lowermost extents of the travel of the mass, to protect the mechanism from damaging itself, and to conserve and return some of the energy of its motion. Depending on the springs, a great deal of energy can be conserved. A more expensive model could replace the lever with a full pendulum, with a driving permanent magnet at each upper end of the arc, and an alternator being coupled to the rotating central shaft.

The output device must be designed so that it provides minimal resistance on the mass-raising stroke. The force to provide the upward pull comes 99% from the permanent magnet, so the electrical current needed to power the electromagnet can be minimal. If gravity exerts 20 pounds of downward force on the mass, then the permanent magnet must be able to exert 21 pounds of upward attractive force on the mass, to raise it up.

The power generation comes when the mass is hurled downward by the permanent magnet, aided also by gravity (21 permanent-magnet pounds + 20 gravity pounds equals 41 net pounds of downward force). The power derived by the combination of the permanent magnet and gravity will thus easily exceed the minimal current needed to energise the electromagnet, thus leaving a lot left over to be tapped off as useful work.

The amount of force present in the lever would depend on a combination of the mass of the weight, and the strength of the permanent magnet. Weights, magnetic strengths and distances would have to be juggled to find an appropriate combination of variables. The output device must be designed so that it provides minimal resistance on the raising stroke.

The design is so simple that I don’t believe it can be patented. I am happy to open-source it, and to share it freely with anybody who helps to iron out any bugs and make a working model.

I would greatly welcome any feedback and suggestions.

[wdford]

Sorry, what does that mean?

[Paul-R]

Sorry, what does that mean?

He's being a pedant.

You should have said "force" rather than power since power = force.velocity
  (or something similar, if I recall correctly).

[wdford]

Thanks, I have corrected it. Can you see any flaws in the actual concept?

[mscoffman]

...Electromagnets can be made to be very powerful with minimum electric current...

Such is not the case. That statement is in error. Electromagnets produce a force that
is theoretically exactly balanced to the electrical energy being dissipated within it. You
need to understand the electronic math/physics equations having to do with
electromagnets. Check out wikipedia.org, then do some calculations. The strength of
the magnetic field from a solinoid is proportional to amperes times the number
of turns in the solinoid. But the resistance of the coil is proportional to the length
of wire used in the coil. So based in ohms law you have to increase the voltage
to keep the current constant as you increase the number of turns in coil. Since
watts= amps times volts, the power needs to go up when you have more turns...so
it all blances out. Think of an old fashioned voltmeter where the movement on the
pointer is directly linearly related to volts across the meters coil. The electromagnet
in the meter puts a force against a circular spring linear related to volts.

One problem with using magnets is that the force is proportional to 1/(R^2)
This is called the inverse square law of magnetic fields. This is why two magnets
need to be brought relatively close together then a some point they jump together
this jumping is non-linear energy and is very difficult to capture mechanically.

The problem you are seeing is that; when designing magnetic circuits, there
are no good magnetic insulators. The exception is the use supercondcutors
but they have refrigeration energy costs. If there was a solid
magnetic insulator  that worked then you could insert it in between two
permanent magnets to stop the attraction, but there is no such thing that
is not a superconductor.

If there was you could design a magnetic switch and the switch is the
basis of a motors aramature phase dependent commutator switch.

:S:MarkSCoffman