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Emil T. Hartman's patent diagram.

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. This article or section should include material from Parallel Path See also Perpetuum mobile as a musical term Perpetual motion machines (the Latin term perpetuum mobile is not uncommon) are a class of hypothetical machines which would produce useful energy in a way science cannot explain (yet). ... A physical law or a law of nature is a scientific generalization based on empirical observations. ... Phrenology is regarded today as a classic example of pseudoscience. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section should include material from Parallel Path See also Perpetuum mobile as a musical term Perpetual motion machines (the Latin term perpetuum mobile is not uncommon) are a class of hypothetical machines which would produce useful energy in a way science cannot explain (yet). ...

Overview

In SMOT, a steel ball is pulled up a ramp by magnetism and then falls, so the magnetic energy is converted 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]} The steel cable of a colliery winding tower. ... Balls are objects typically used in games. ... Magnetic lines of force of a bar magnet shown by iron filings on paper In physics, magnetism is one of the phenomena by which materials exert an attractive or repulsive force on other materials. ... The kinetic energy of an object is the extra energy which it possesses due to its motion. ... A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a patentee (the inventor or assignee) for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which... Categories: Stub | Science ...

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. Thermodynamics (from the Greek θερμη, therme, meaning heat and δυναμις, dunamis, meaning power) is a branch of physics that studies the effects of changes in temperature, pressure, and volume on physical systems at the macroscopic scale by analyzing the collective motion of their particles using statistics. ...

Construction

The SMOT consists of an inclined plane, a series of permanent magnets, a steel ball and a 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 considerable gain in height. The inclined plane is one of the classical simple machines; as the name suggests, it is a flat surface whose endpoints are at different heights. ...

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.

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. Various meanings of the term free energy include: In thermodynamics the term free energy denotes the total amount of energy in a system which can be converted into work. ... Potential energy is the energy that is by virtue of the relative positions (configurations) of the objects within a physical system. ... The kinetic energy of an object is the extra energy which it possesses due to its motion. ... Simple gravity pendulum assumes no air resistance and no friction of/at the nail/screw. ... A conservative force is a force which is path-independent. ...

External articles and references

Citations

1. ^ Hartman, Emil T., "U.S. Patent 4,215,330 ". USPTO.

Physical views

• Simanek, Donald E., "Testing a SMOT". LHUP, June 23, 2004.