Simple Magnetic Overunity Toy

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Perpetual motion machine: Simple Magnetic Overunity Toy
Emil T. Hartman's patent diagram.
Disciplines	physics and mechanical engineering
Core Tenets	Magnetic energy is converted into kinetic energy in a process that allows the cycle to be repeated without the application of outside energy.
Year Proposed	1985
Original Proponents	Greg Watson
Current Proponents	unknown
Theory violation	First law of thermodynamics
Simple Magnetic Overunity Toy is reportedly a perpetual motion machine. Such machines violate the known laws of physics. Claims of the development of such devices are considered pseudoscience by most scientists.

The Simple Magnetic Overunity Toy (SMOT) is 1985 invention by Greg Watson from Australia that claims to show "over-unity" energy — a route to purported perpetual motion.

1 Overview
2 Construction
3 Analysis of operation
4 External articles and references

[edit] Overview

In the theoretical SMOT design, a steel ball is pulled up a ramp by an array of permanent magnets. At the top of the ramp it falls, converting magnetic attraction into kinetic energy. A SMOT-like structure is shown in Emil T. Hartman's patent.^[1] Watson claims that a mechanism called regauging happens that allows the cycle to be repeated without the application of outside energy.^{[citation needed]}

Many attempts have been made to use magnetism to overcome conservation of energy, without success. No perpetual motion machines have ever been demonstrated to actually function.^{[citation needed]}

The design error that probably causes people to believe to have actually gained energy during this process is to neglect the fact that the ball, when it has reached the top end of the device, is still in a strong magnetic field and not able to fall freely. As everybody knows, removing a magnetic object from a magnetic field takes energy. Moving the ball from the top end position to the starting position will require just as much energy as was gained by using the device.

Also note that the design of this device basically is a primitive linear particle accelerator (except it's using a steel ball instead of an atomic or subatomic particle), a device which has been researched very well in physics. Also Maglev trains work with a very similar principle. In fact, it even is very closely related to an Electric Motor. So this design is far from being unique or little understood by physicians.

[edit] Construction

The SMOT consists of a non-metallic inclined plane, a series of permanent magnets, a steel ball and a non-metallic track. Some version have a pair of long bar magnets in place of the series of permanent magnets. The inclined plane has a very low grade, but still enough to provide a gain in height.

The track is positioned so that it is directly in the centre of the inclined plane. Usually, the surface of the track is almost flush with the inclined plane's surface. The two permanent magnets are long bar magnets, polarized with their poles being at the long side, that are placed almost parallel to the track, but the poles nearest to the top of the inclined plane are closer to the track than they are at the bottom. The SMOT works because the magnetic field is stronger when the magnets are closer to the steel ball and each other, and since the net force is towards the top of the ramp, the motion of the ball is also that direction, making the ball move up the track. This is why it is imperative that the magnets are constantly getting closer to the ball, in order to create a net force upwards. The track serves to keep the ball away from the magnets. If the track is not constructed carefully a slight imbalance can send the steel ball off of the track into one of the magnets.

[edit] Analysis of operation

The device does not gather "free energy" as is sometimes advertised. It does convert potential energy in the form of the steel ball's distance from the magnetic source to kinetic energy as it rolls towards it - just as is done by any object when it falls. Similar conversions of energy from potential to kinetic and back take place in the swinging of a pendulum, but the representation is created by the perceived increase in gravitational potential energy as the ball rolls up the ramp. The eye is not attuned to see the decrease in magnetic potential energy as it moves towards the magnet. Any device constructed to extract the energy from the system will not work forever just as no pendulum will oscillate forever as dissipative forces (such as friction) will eventually damp the motion. Thus, in this conception, the device is not a perpetual motion machine since it will eventually stop, and there is no "overunity" efficiency achieved.