Bill Muller has shown it too !

[gaby de wilde]

I've learned a great deal from this experiment.

Let me be the first to say:

I haven't done enough research to make a conclusion.

[Rapadura]

Hmmm... May someone please give me an explanation of why it should NOT work?

I need to understand what prevents a gauss gun from becoming a perpetual motion machine.

Inspiring video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP6_vXus0F4

[Charlie_V]

In the arrangement posted by rotorhead above (which I also tried), the magnetic gradient between the left and right are not unbalanced enough.  If you have just 3 balls, two on one side of the magnet, none on the other with the third ball moving toward the magnet, the magnetic force is strong enough to knock the last stationary ball off.  When its balanced (two on one side, one on the other), the entering ball has the same attraction force as the stiction force of the last stationary ball.  So the ball enters and the kinetic energy gain is canceled by the stiction force of the last stationary ball - I hope this is making sense to you guys, its hard to explain without a picture and I'm lazy right now.

[Rapadura]

I see now... The steel ball that will be "launched" needs to be at a certain distance from the central magnet, in order to the magnetic attraction force that is getting it stuck to the central magnet be weak enough to not prevent it from being "launched".

I understand now... It needs to be unbalanced. You can't put the same number of balls at the two sides. You need always to have more balls at the side where is the ball that will be "launched" than in the side of the "trigger" ball.

So it will never work in a closed loop. Let's forget the gauss gun...

[pinobot]

Designed another Vertical Gauss Rifle, this one 'works' by letting the steel ball fall slowly down the ramp to stop it sticking to the magnet.
Still working on the idea but it thought i'd share it. 


Next month i'm gonna buy me some magnets and steel balls and play around a little.