Newb Idea (Bear with me)

[Tcanuth]

This idea is very simple in concept so i have a hard time believing someone else hasnt tried it but...

I recently saw a video on youtube (i can no longer locate it) that featured a wooden cylindrical peg that was pointed at one end with some sort of metal tip. This peg was suspended in mid air by magnets and the tip rested against glass and was spun and it continued to rotate for a few minutes with no power other than that of the inital spin.

With that in mind, the only reasoning i would see for that peg to stop spinning would be

a) the friction at the point of contact where the metal tip touches the glass
b) drag caused by the air

After seeing that and reading a post about physical effects in space in that any item in space will continue moving in any direction or faction until acted on by another force.

With that, would it be possible to completely suspend a spinning axle of some sort using magnets to completely eliminate the element of friction and contain this apparatus within a vacuum to negate the effects of drag caused by air pressure?

Please feel free to criticize my idea all you would like and explain to me why it wouldnt work. Im all ears as it seems to simple to not have been done before.

[fritznien]

sounds like an energy storage flywheel, magnetic bearings in a vacuum.
now what?
fritznien

[nightlife]

 Many have talked about the benifts a frictionless condition would have on different designs but in reality, it will only produce a more efficient design which I am all for but that isn't enough for many here. Most here are looking for a design that will produce an over unity output.
The thing with a frictionless design is that you still have to introduce a resistance if trying to get something more out of it. If you can get it to spin forever, thats good but what work can it do? What more can the spin do other then just spin? If you add a resistance, the spin will stop. The time it takes to stop depends on the amount of resistance added.

[Tcanuth]

the initial idea i had pictured was taking this device and adding magnets to one end or both and having those spin within a wire coil. These would not touch which would not create any resistance nor drag or friction and function as a crude generator

[Staffman]

the initial idea i had pictured was taking this device and adding magnets to one end or both and having those spin within a wire coil. These would not touch which would not create any resistance nor drag or friction and function as a crude generator

The friction in this case isn't the problem. The coil and magnet repel each other when either one of them moves relative to the other. A quick test... create a large coil of magnet wire (air core) and join the ends of the wire... then move a big magnet past the face of the coil. You will notice a repelling effect. This is effectively Lenz law. The current generated in the coil, when used (ie short the wires or turn on a light bulb) creates a magnetic field that opposes the magnetic field of the magnet. There are a few threads here at OU that discuss trying to circumvent this law, however, I haven't read through them thoroughly enough to say if there has been any degree of success.