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Is a Permanent Magnet Motor Feasible?

Nov. 18, 2017
Is a Permanent Magnet Motor Feasible?

We recently published an article on the Power Electronics with the headline, “Unique Motor Uses Only Permanent Magnets – No Electric Power Required.” We received a firestorm of criticism that this sounded like a perpetual motion machine and that it defies the law of conservation of energy and the law of thermodynamics. Some engineers said that it should have been dated April 1, because it must be a joke. I was led to believe that there was such a motor, but the motor does not exist—at least not yet.

It turns out that the headline was incorrect. It should have said, “New Discovery Could Lead to Commercial Production of Permanent Magnet Motors.” The original article’s co-author, Dr. Kenneth Kozeka, discovered a way to use permanent magnets to produce mechanical motion. The article should have made it clear that this discovery could lead to a permanent magnet motor, but not yet. We followed up by asking Dr. Kozeka to explain the background for his discovery, and he provided what you’ll see in the text below. After reading this explanation, you can decide whether you think the approach is feasible.

Dr. Kozeka says it is easy to imagine the attractive force between two magnets doing work for us, such as turning a motor when they pull themselves together. The problem, of course, is that energy has to be spent pulling the magnets apart if we want them to work for us again. In this manner, there is no advantage to having the magnets work for us.

Scientists and inventors alike have attempted to use permanent magnets alone to drive a motor. Others dismissed the notion of a motor driven by permanent magnets alone as defying the laws of thermodynamics. We did not understand the source of the electromagnetic energy responsible for the magnetic forces. As early as 1926, quantum physics described intrinsic spin or angular momentum of the unpaired electron in ferromagnetic material as the source. Dr. Feynman (Nobel Laureate in Physics) describes the spin as “perpetual” in his lectures on electromagnetic energy.

There are several theories in physics that propose the source of the electromagnetic energy, which is carried by streams of virtual photons emanating from the atomic electron. Whatever the source may be, it is intrinsic and abundant. The notion of a motor driven by permanent magnets alone is therefore feasible and cannot be dismissed as defying conservation of energy.

A permanent magnet motor would not produce energy and would not be a perpetual motion machine. Instead, it would simply use the electromagnetic energy delivered by the angular momentum of the electron in the form of magnetic forces. Although quantum physics has described angular momentum as the source of energy, there remain some scientists and lay people who hold onto the incorrect paradigm that views permanent magnet motors as defying the basic laws of physics.

The discovery presented here spotlights a very unusual phenomenon. Two permanent magnets with opposite poles facing are able to produce equatorial attraction and polar repulsion without reversing the polarity of a magnet and without the use of another energy source. The opposite poles do not produce the repulsion. Nor is the repulsion a byproduct of the inertia or momentum of the horizontal attraction. This is clearly evident by demonstrating polar repulsion occurring without first producing horizontal attraction. Visit www.kedronenergy.com for videos demonstrating separate horizontal attraction and vertical repulsion.

It is amazing, if not breathtaking, to see two permanent magnets with opposite poles facing generate simultaneous equatorial (horizontal) attraction and polar (vertical) repulsion, which can be used to generate an attraction and repulsion sequence. In this manner, energy does not have to be spent to pull the magnets apart after they attract and do work for us. Instead, the magnets separate themselves. Both the attraction and repulsion phases can do work for us, such as driving an electric generator. There are two power strokes compared to one power stroke in a combustion engine. This amazing discovery cannot be dismissed or refuted, because it is easily reproduced by anyone. The Kedron website presents a video demonstrating this phenomenon using a small apparatus. Instructions are provided to reproduce this small apparatus. Rarely, if ever, is such an important scientific discovery so easily verified.

It is not difficult to imagine how the power stroke of a combustion engine can be used to generate continued motion. Likewise, it is easy to imagine how the attract and repel power strokes of the permanent magnets can be used to generate continuous motion similar to the design of a conventional electric motor or a combustion engine. A video is available at the Kedron website that shows how several pairs of magnets connected together can produce continued motion by using the magnets at both ends of their travel. A simulation of how multiple pairs of permanent magnets can be connected to generate continued motion is also provided. This is perhaps the simplest version of a machine or “motor” generating continuous motion. Better designs will be used in a commercial unit.

Kedron is seeking the partnership of companies that can develop and manufacture commercial permanent magnet motors. This discovery has been published to seek support for further development and implementation. Details of the motor design will become available after securing patent protection and commercial production by manufacturing companies.

About the Author

Sam Davis

Sam Davis was the editor-in-chief of Power Electronics Technology magazine and website that is now part of Electronic Design. He has 18 years experience in electronic engineering design and management, six years in public relations and 25 years as a trade press editor. He holds a BSEE from Case-Western Reserve University, and did graduate work at the same school and UCLA. Sam was the editor for PCIM, the predecessor to Power Electronics Technology, from 1984 to 2004. His engineering experience includes circuit and system design for Litton Systems, Bunker-Ramo, Rocketdyne, and Clevite Corporation.. Design tasks included analog circuits, display systems, power supplies, underwater ordnance systems, and test systems. He also served as a program manager for a Litton Systems Navy program.

Sam is the author of Computer Data Displays, a book published by Prentice-Hall in the U.S. and Japan in 1969. He is also a recipient of the Jesse Neal Award for trade press editorial excellence, and has one patent for naval ship construction that simplifies electronic system integration.

You can also check out his Power Electronics blog

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