Question about 90 degree separation of magnets.

[nwman]

This is more of a question then an idea. Has anyone explained why it takes more force to pull two magnets straight apart then whats needed to pull the same two magnets apart by sliding them sideways? I don't know a lot about STORN but I think I read somewhere about a 90 degree rule or something. I admit I haven't given this much thought but I thought I would post it here anyways. So a couple questions I would have are:

Could two magnets pull straight together with more force then whats needed to pull them apart by sliding them apart sideways?

Would sliding a magnet into a repelling field of another magnet take less energy then what is generated by the magnets pushing apart?

Its like gravity in the idea that to pull something up takes lots of energy but to push it across at a 90 degree perpendicular to the ground direction takes relatively no energy besides friction. I have an idea for some experiments that would test this but before I go that far I wanted to see what you thought?

Tim

[Thaelin]

   You have some interesting thoughts here. Think of a car. We move it forward with fair ease. Try and push it up a hill and you have to exert a lot of force. My 40lb neos cannot be pulled apart except by sliding them sideways.

thaelin

[Nostradamus2]

.

[Honk]

http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Kedron:Eden_Project:Permanent_Magnet_Energy_Gain

[gaby de wilde]

Don't forget saying it's the same is just as much a guess as anything.

Sidewards attraction may also be bigger as face to face. It's likely to depends on the surface area and the strength of the magnets. I think weak big magnets slide with more strength and small NEO's work best face to face.

*edit*

yes, that Kedron link is a good example. I had also seen one using super thin magnets.