In reply to Jouni Valkonen's message of Thu, 6 Sep 2012 19:05:33 +0300: Hi, >Stored energy in magnetic field for neodymium magnet is around 40-50 MGOe. >As one MGOe is 7960 J / m³, this means that energy stored in 1 cm³ >neodymium magnet is 360 millijoules. That is, it is negligible for all >practical purposes and certainly this field energy is not the source why >permanent magnets can do work. > >Jouni [snip] As I said. ;) However I'm not certain that the volume of the actual magnet is the appropriate volume (though I think it is). It might be the volume of the magnetic field around the magnet, and that extends much further. OTOH, the fact that the energy content calculated in this fashion is so low, would seem to indicate that if magic magnet motors work, then the energy source is probably external to the magnet.
The most likely source IMO is the van Allen belts, however there isn't a great deal of energy stored in the belts, so if they are the source, then they aren't likely to solve our energy problems. It's enough for the occasional magic magnet motor demo, but not enough for wide scale use. Why do I keep harping on the belts? Because it's not impossible according to the laws of physics. If a motor is resonant with the cyclotron frequency of protons in the belts (or perhaps a sub-harmonic of the frequency of the protons), then a resonant energy transfer might take place, and resonant energy transfer only diminishes as the inverse of the distance, not the inverse square, as long as the separation distance is about equal to or less than the EM wavelength. For a magnetic field of 0.1 gauss, the cyclotron frequency of protons is about 154 Hz, which matches a motor rpm of 9240 (since this is a bit on the high side for motors, they might operate at a sub-harmonic of 154 Hz). Furthermore, 154 Hz has a wavelength of nearly 2000 km, which is appropriate for the distance from the surface to parts of the lower van Allen belt. BTW the 0.1 gauss field strength is somewhat of a guess. Since the Earth's magnetic field will vary in strength with altitude, there are likely to be a range of frequencies that could be effective. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html
