Latest: No back torque generator.

[Groundloop]

BWS,

Will a single spiraling enameled copper wire disk, sandwiched between two circular plate magnets, with to wire ends work?
(Assuming the wire ends is connected to the axles as shown in my drawing.)

Groundloop.

[gravityblock]

The brushless system that I described would be taking current off the disk or magnet 360 degrees.  This would be equal to having an infinite number of brushes  and wire segments around the circumference and axis of the disk or magnet.  With a conductive coating of the magnet or a solid disk, you would be drawing an uniform saturated current from every point on the disk or magnet.

You could never achieve these results with a brush system or with wire segments.  The brushless system changes everything.

You don't need coils.  The north side pole of the magnet is already infinitely coupled electrically to the south pole side of the magnet with the same polarity with a conductive coated magnet.  The brushless system forms a closed circuit through both the north and south poles of the magnet utilizing 100% of the surface and field, instead of just a closed loop through one side in the traditional setup utilizing only 50% of the surface and field.

In order to stack the disks, you would only need two swivel bearings on each ends of the axis with a specific number of magnets between the two swivel bearings.  In a N/S/N/S/N/S configuration the polarity remains the same throughout the entire circuit and would be equal to one large diameter disk, thus boosting the voltage.

I disagree with you BWS on the voltage calculation, since using both sides of the magnet is essentially equal to doubling the size of the disk.

[Yucca]

You might be on to something there, if a good solution to multiple brush sets could be found.

Perhaps if a foil discs circumference was finished with a wide cylindrical flange for large brush area? Or would only a thin path (equal to foil thickness) on the flange be playing a part?

You mention the need for sliding brushes to get the effect, so I presume a belt takeoff would not work? It would be good if it did because then one could belt or chain (conductive) two disks together each disk with opposite mag polarity and then just place an electric load accross the axles.

[Yucca]

I disagree with you BWS on the voltage calculation, since using both sides of the magnet is essentially equal to doubling the size of the disk.

Doesn't using both sides of the disk just double the available current, like paralleling two batteries together?

[BWS]

@groundloop,
  The problem I see with your nice drawing is that both the spiral coil and the straight lead back to the shaft will generate the same voltage, but in opposite directions.  I made such a test device, and it will have no net voltage.  Your conductive grease bearings can be bought off the shelf as electrical slip rings.

@gravityblock,
  Be free to test my conviction that one spinning magnet (or 2 discs on either side of 1 magnet) can not be made to have double voltage without 2 separate circumferential brushes.  One spinning magnet makes the same voltage polarity on both sides, thus the current can be additive but not the voltage without discrete discs and brushes in series.

@yucca,
I find both the thin foil disc and the chain/conductive belt ideas to be interesting possibilities.  Like you said, if there is a wider flange around the foil, then a "chain", if the current capacity (resistance) of the cross section of the flange and chain are greater than the current capacity of the entire disk, then the disc could be saturated rather easily.  A thick flange would then negate the need of brushes all the way around the disc... Very interesting.  There may be some negative voltage produced as the chain moves away from the flange (there will be a counterproductive returning magnetic field there), but maybe that could be reduced by idler pulleys that force the chain into a more radial position instead of a tangential one (I need to think about that more).
  A dual disc setup could then be made as you said with 2 parallel shafts and reversed magnetic fields for double voltage.  Several more such assemblies could be put on the same 2 shafts.  This could verify the entire phenomenon, it's only limitation being that it would always have to put out a fixed amount of current (maximum), but it's voltage could be varied with rpm.

Cheers!
-BWS