Not Perpetual Motion....

[Aemilius]

Interesting forum topic shaping up here. A bit of a bore until it gets to the concept near the bottom of page three....

http://scienceforums.com/topic/26247-gravity-driven-mechanisms/

Strength to you all.... Emile

[Lily]

eh what ?

[Aemilius]

Lily "eh what ?"

er huh?

[Lily]

oh. I did not find the buttons to go on to the other pages, so I found the discussion went nowhere.

so you have built a machine that.... does what? makes a lot of rotations once it is tilted a little?
tell us more?

[Aemilius]

Hey Lily, hope you're well....

I have devised (over the last fifteen years) and finally constructed a well balanced mechanism that immediately begins to rotate (in either direction) with an imbalancing displacement of as little as one degree (even with no bearings). With similar repeated periodic displacements of as little as three to five degrees its rate of rotation rapidly approaches 70 to 80 rotations per minute over the course of just four or five repetitions, all while overcoming only frictional mechanical resistance.

I can't post pictures here for some reason, but for now, there are pictures (and a more in depth theoretical description) of it in that forum thread link I posted (starting around the middle of page three after some nonsense).....

Here's a bit more about it....

It's a form of pendulum, actually a spring compesated broken pendulum that has been augmented with a planetary chain and sprocket arrangement, and there are major differences that immediately become apparent when comparing this to any conventional pendulum. This pendulum....

1. ....has been robbed of any natural periodicity normally associated with pendulous motion. In other words, it's rate of motion depends exclusively on the rate/frequency at which it is being periodically imbalanced (it's not forced in any way, that's just how it responds).

2. ....unlike a simple pendulum which has two possible positions of equilibrium, stable when hanging and un-stable when inverted, this pendulum actually has four possible positions of equilibrium, it's un-stable when hanging or inverted, and stable when the pendulum is perpendicular to the force of gravity, positioned to one side or the other, which is critical to the effect.

3. ....even though its motion is pendulous by definition, it does not swing back and forth in two directions like a simple pendulum with the well known accompanying periodic rise and fall of potential and kinetic energy levels (respectively) as it begins, continues and ends each motional cycle. This pendulum swings, or "falls" to one side, gaining kinetic energy as its potential energy diminishes, and then, by slightly changing the condition of the mechanism at the appropriate time (commutation is the best word I can think of for it), it continues moving in the same direction without losing the kinetic energy it has gained, swinging, or "falling" to the other side and continuing to gain kinetic energy. I believe that's why it begins to rotate so quickly and forcefully....

Emile

[Lily]

kinda like an "automatic" watch, then?

[Aemilius]

Lily "kinda like an "automatic" watch, then?"

Well, no.... It's really more like a spring compensated broken pendulum augmented with a planetary chain and sprocket arrangement.

I don't want you to miss another link so here it is.... http://youtu.be/E7CEwnOFnCk

I can only show about sixty seconds or so of video at a time because it takes (dial up) an hour and a half to upload. I'll be making a couple more as time permits over the next few days to illustrate other characteristics mentioned in the other forum thread (the link in the first post) such as the four possible positions of equilibrium, but I'll just start with this one showing the mechanism in motion.

I've been trying to think of a way to convey to the viewer an idea of the sensation, what it actually feels like, when moving the control lever back and forth.... If you take a pen or pencil and stand it on end, then hold it at the top and move it back and forth about an inch or so you'll be feeling exactly the same thing I'm feeling when moving it back and forth during testing.... almost nothing at all.







.

[Lily]

pretty fascinating piece of "Techno-Bardry" - how about submitting it to the Eisteddfod?

[Aemilius]

Lily "pretty fascinating piece of "Techno-Bardry" - how about submitting it to the Eisteddfod?"

Thanks! Sounds like fun.... What would that entail exactly?

Emile

[Lily]

check it out - crafts or physical art might be your spot

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