Help On Science Project (Magnetic Fan)

[Icarius]

Hello!

I'm a 4th year high school student. Our physics teacher required us to do a Science Investigative Research. The topic of our research was "Magnetic Fan". It's quite simple. We will use the movement caused by magnets to rotate the blade of a mechanical fan.

 

But we have a problem. IT DOESN'T WORK!

We used this design:

 

 

We were hoping to get some help from the forum.

 

Remember: the fan blade should rotate AND magnets should have a significant part in rotating it.

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who will help us!

Edited November 30, 2012 by Icarius

[imatfaal]

Sorry Icarius - it can never work. You are getting energy out - ie you are moving the fan, and the air around it - you must put energy in or use stored energy and you are doing neither. Your fan will move a fraction of a rotation and reach a stable state and stop. You need to use a changeable field on either the rotar or the surround - this is the basis of an electric motor. In your set up there will be at least one situation in which the fan is happy to stop - that is to say that it will require an outside force to get it to continue rotating (all the forces moving it one way are balanced by those making it move the other); once at that point there is no good reason for it to carry on moving.

 

You and your lab partners might well be able to make a pretty good science project by showing why it cannot work.

[Abhay.K]

this is a simple idea

just fix a iron piece on the fan, and then rotate the magnet (just above the iron piece) ...the fan will rotate