Working SMOT ramp from Tom Ferko ?

[Light]

Sorry, guys, it works only because the track has ends.
As soon it will be closed in the loop no movement possible.
But respect for the great job...
Looking forward to see I'm wrong...

[djancak]

Glad to hear that you've made progress.

Light, have you seen his older video? The roll-away on it was huge! I see nothing that can stop it...

[Dingus Mungus]

I believe what light was referring to was that a closed ring of magnets in near attraction will only apply a minimal ammount of energy to other magnets in their proximity. But this device would not require a closed loop of magnets, just a closed loop of track. If the SMOT ramp set at a 30 degree incline can elevate the large wheel magnet to the top of the ramp and allow it to continue rolling, you can then use this energy to steer the magnet back to its starting release point with gravity.

I worked on a similar concept years ago known as a TOMI track. At the time I didn't have the time or resources to get the parts made to close the loop but could gather a lot of energy in a linear demonstration.

Great concept and its cheap and easy to replicate. I would be thinking miniature golf, water slide, roller coaster type gravity driven turns when it comes time to close the loop. I know the examples may seem silly but the physics behind the examples are actually quite important to the task ahead. The heigher you lift the magnet the more energy you can harvest on the wheels way down.

I'm quite excited to see what Toms track can do... (vertically)

~Dingus

[magnetman12003]

Hi All,

I am almost finished with the track. I dont like to show something that looks like junk.  It will present itself nice when done and all polaritys will be color coded.   Easy to understand and inexpensive to replicate.

This "Stagger Track" concept unlike the regular TOMI track uses only a single pole of the runner magnet to face the tracks magnetic signatures.  No sticky spots result as this track works on pure attraction alone.

The "TOMI" track has a very undesirable characteristic of a dreaded sticky spot that for years folks have been trying to plow through or work around.  Oh - you can do that with an electromagnet but that reqires extra energy in itself.  Both attraction and repel forces power this type track.

I like to think of the TOMI sticky spot as a "Power Pinchoff" bottleneck where magnetic forces on one side of the track push towards the tracks center and magnetic forces on the otherside of the track do the same with equal force.   End result is clipped track runner movement.             Tom

[Dingus Mungus]

LOL TOMI was easy...

All you do is place a hole mid way down the track and put the track at a 40% angle. The roller magnet rolls up the track and falls through the hole on to the next ramp. I could get a single magnet to move 6 feet linearly in this configuration. I do agree this is a whole different beast then a TOMI though. Much easier to deal with and build I would assume. Good luck, and I'm quite excited to see your next demo.

Thanks for the updates and insight,
~Dingus