A motor in a Teacup? Great fun!!!
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You're not registered over there Andy?
I quote the text --
The homopolar motor is a way to make a simple electric motor with just a few pieces of wire, a magnet, a battery, and a screw. Now it's time to get high tech: only with a teacup and some salt.
The fictional "caterpillar" engine is quiet because the only thing that moves is the water. So how can we to do in order to recreate this marvel? First grab a teacup, one of the handle-less ceramic white ones often found in Chinese restaurants. Put some water in it, and salt the water. Then pour in some pepper to make the motion of the water visible. Set the tea cup on top of the disk magnet. Grab thick pieces of wire (thin ones will heat up and burn you) and press them to either side of the battery. Lower them into the water. You'll see the water churn and spin between the wires.
This is the same thing that happened in the homopolar engine. Electrons traveling through a magnetic field feel a push at right angles to both the magnetic field and the direction of their travel. Since the electrons are traveling between the two wires, they're traveling horizontally. The magnetic field lines are vertical. And so the water is pushed forward and backward. The entire thing churns the water like a propeller — and it does so silently, without any machinery.
Stop messing about - just get a Sub-driver!Comment
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