Idea for new type of electric motor

[Anders Hoveland]

I had this idea for a new type of electric motor. (see diagrams in attachments) I have not actually built a working prototype. Would it work?

 

Or specifically what I am asking is this: I know that the current flowing towards the magnet can result in a perpendicular force. Is it possible for current to flow away from the magnet (as indicated in the diagram) without inducing an equal and opposite perpendicular force?

 

 

The new type of homopolar electric motor is similar in principle to the faraday motor.

Unlike the faraday motor, however, this new design can easily be adapted to utilize multiple turns in the wire; in other words it can use coils of wire, rather than only a single wire.

This motor has the advantage of running on simple direct current, without the need for any sort of commutators, either internal or external. In addition, the design does not require any conventional brushes. Pivotal electric contact points are still required however, but these have some advantages over brushes. Conventional electric motors cannot be designed to only use pivotal contact points without problems of the coil frequently getting locked up, caused by normal variation in the mechanical load.

It should also be noted that even if the wire is held in place, with the magnet allowed the freedom to spin, there will not be any circular motion induced on the magnet. This seeming asymetry can be explained by the fact that the circular motion induced on the copper wire is relative to the external circuit (which is away from the magnetic field), not the magnet.

Also note that the critical L-shaped section of wire must be on one of the polar sides of the magnet, and the wire must be diagonal to the magnetic axis. Simply having a toroidal coil which surrounds the magnet will not cause any induced circular motion in the coil, because the winds would be aligned with the magnetic axis.

The copper wire must be rigid enough to maintain its shape. The only freedom of motion allowed to the L-shaped section should be mobility around the magnetic axis, while maintaining its relative distance and alignment with respect to the magnetic field.

Unfortunately, this motor design cannot work in reverse as an electric generator.

Obviously, the more practical application of this design is that it can allow the faraday motor to utilize multiple turns in a coil, an therfore gain the required efficiency to become practical for commercial operation.

In the well known Faraday motor, one of the contact points must be around the radius of the magnet, otherwise a straight wire will be subject to opposing mechanical forces, as the wire tries to flip to be perpendicular to the magnetic axis. If the wire segment is constrained, only free to revolve around the magnetic axis, there would then be no induced motion, as the opposing mechanical forces in opposition are equal in magnitude, and the vectors (at any given instant) are parallel to eachother and the allowed mechanical motion.

For the Faraday design to utilize a coil would require countless contact points, making such a potential design both impractically complex and unreliable in actual operation. The Faraday motor is only a demonstration of electromagnetic principles, with absolutely no practical application.

Simply thinking only in terms of "magnetic poles" is not adequate to understand the operation of either this design or the Faraday motor demonstration.

Edited December 14, 2012 by Anders Hoveland

[Enthalpy]

Hi Anders!

I want to take my time before trying any answer - sorry for the delay.

Marc

[ox1111]

I'm not seeing any rotational force being created in your diagram. I also don't understand the rotational force of the magnet drawn in your diagram? Maybe, I am misinterpreting what you have drawn or possibly what you have drawn on paper does not relate to what you have in your mind.