The Escher Machine, The Escher Machine...

[NathanCoppedge]

the trick is to decrease the magnetic attraction at the end so gravity can do its' thing.
artv

I find no reason to think that magnets will be necessary. And I don't mean to discourage anyone from imitating my construction. It requires super-straight cardboard on the lower end and super-smooth cardboard for the backboard. The experiment can be imitated using a level. I think basically no one thought of it before.

Some of my other experiments using a slope that is joined with the backboard may look more conclusive on the level issue, or not. But my intuition is that there are some configurations, like in the video, that work. Essentially the principle is more horizontal than vertical displacement, plus a means of momentum.

[shylo]

I don't understand that Escher machine. Gravity alone can't do anything, neither can magnetism.
Together I think it's possible.
If you place a ring magnet on top of a steel pipe it will rotate 270 degrees ,then go back to 180.If you cut that pipe so the thickness of the steel is less at 180 the magnet will let go of the pipe.
Use the momentum upon release to send the magnet, up the next track.
artv

[NathanCoppedge]

I don't understand that Escher machine. Gravity alone can't do anything, neither can magnetism.
Together I think it's possible.
artv

The point is, I think gravity CAN do something, when it is directed sideways with minimal resistance. It's hard to find the right metaphor to explain this. But I think if you look over my two eight-point proofs, you may find you don't disagree with any of the individual points.

Like you said, magnets don't do anything. I think I agree on that point. The average magnet machine is either depletable or cannot overcome friction. So I find no reason to believe that combining magnets and gravity has much additional effect, unless you're thinking of a different design.

Remember, John Wilkin's ramp perpetual motion concept was a failure, see the fake video (it's the second machine mentioned):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D9FcjTNaEk&index=10&list=PLC3662DDC93A31100

But that's a very different design from the Escher Machine. For one thing, it tries to achieve a much larger gain in altitude.

[shylo]

That Wilkin ramp won't work because if the magnet at the top is strong enough to pull the ball up the ramp, it will never let it drop out to the slide to go down. It will just grab the ball.
The ball has to be the magnet, steel has to be the track, if you have a tapered piece of curved steel at the end of that track it will let go.
artv

[NathanCoppedge]

That Wilkin ramp won't work because if the magnet at the top is strong enough to pull the ball up the ramp, it will never let it drop out to the slide to go down. It will just grab the ball.
The ball has to be the magnet, steel has to be the track, if you have a tapered piece of curved steel at the end of that track it will let go.
artv

I don't know if you're right. But for one thing, there are no genuine ball magnets, that I know of. I think they're all polar. That's the property of magnetism. Those little plastic ball magnets are polar, too, if you open them up. Difficult to make it roll properly, even if it were magnetic. One pole is likely to be attracted to the steel, and the other repelled. So either it doesn't rise to begin with, or it completely gloms onto the steel part. I have been frustrated by my most basic experiments on magnetism, and it should probably be considered conclusive.

On the other hand, if you can fuse magnets into an assembly, and somehow convert the magnetic pressure into power or motion, then that's sort of like a perpetual motion machine. But I think it depletes the magnets, contrary arguments notwithstanding.