Nexus - 0602 - New Times Magazine-pages

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A MOTOR POWERED BY When this writer was urged by the editor PERMANENT MAGNETS of Science & Mechanics to make a thou- : sand-mile pilgrimage to Blacksburg, by Jorma Hyypia Virginia, to meet with the inventor, he went r “Mhis article originally appeared in the _ there as an ‘open-minded sceptic' and as a Spring 1980 edition of Science & former research scientist determined not to Mechanics, a magazine which is now be fooled. Within two days, this former defunct. We reprint it, though in edited _ sceptic had become a believer. form, in the hope that a new generation of Does Johnson's permanent magnet motor tinkerers will be inspired by the device. We work? Is Johnson a bona fide researcher, have verified that the inventor, Howard _ or merely a ‘garage mechanic' mad inven- Johnson, was awarded the patent on his tor? As the following brief summary sug- permanent magnet-powered motor in 1979 _ gests, the inventor's credentials appear to as well as a further patent relating to the _ be impeccable. device in 1993. — Editor Following seven years of college and university training, Johnson worked on "WW: don't grant patents on perpetual atomic energy projects at Oak Ridge, did motion machines," said the exam- magnetics research for Burroughs compa- iners at the US Patent Office. "It won't ny, and served as scientific consultant to work because it violates the law of conser- Lukens Steel. He has participated in the vation of energy," said one physicist after development of medical electrical products, another. But because inventor Howard _ including injection devices. For the mili- Johnson is not the sort of man to be intimi- tary he invented a ceramic muffler that dated by such seemingly authoritative pro- makes a portable motor generator silent at nouncements, he now owns US Patent No. 50 feet; this has been in production for the 4,151,431 which describes how it is possi- past 18 years. His contributions to the ble to generate motive power, as ina motor industry include: an hysteresis motor, using only the energy contained in _ brake; non-locking brake materials for anti- the atoms of permanent magnets. That's skid application; new methods of curing right. Johnson has discovered how to build _ brake linings; and a method of dissolving motors that run without an input of electric- asbestos fibres. He has also worked on ity or any other kind of external energy! silencers for small motors, a supercharger, and has perfected a 92-pole no-brush gen- erator to go in the wheel of Lincoln auto- mobiles as a skid control. In all, Johnson is connected with more than 30 patents in the fields of chemistry and physics. Perhaps the best way to describe what these three gadgets do is by reciting this writer's personal experiences during the interview demonstration. That way I will not merely be telling what the inventor says they do, but I will reveal what happened when I tried the experiments myself. The first item consists of more than a dozen foil-wrapped magnets assembled to form a broad arc. Each magnet is extended upward slightly at each end to form a low U-shape, the better to concentrate magnetic fields where they are needed. The overall curvature of the mass of magnets apparent- ly has no particular significance except to show that the distance between these stator magnets and the moving vehicle is not crit- ical. A transparent plastic sheet atop this magnet assembly supports a length of plas- tic model railroad track. The vehicle, basi- cally a model railroad flatcar, supports a foil-wrapped pair of curved magnets plus some sort of weight, in some cases merely arock. The weight is needed to keep the vehicle down on the track, against the pow- erful magnetic forces that would otherwise push it askew. That is all there is to the A MOTOR POWERED BY PERMANENT MAGNETS by Jorma Hyypia "WW: don't grant patents on perpetual motion machines," said the exam- iners at the US Patent Office. "It won't work because it violates the law of conser- vation of energy," said one physicist after another. But because inventor Howard Johnson is not the sort of man to be intimi- dated by such seemingly authoritative pro- nouncements, he now owns US Patent No. 4,151,431 which describes how it is possi- ble to generate motive power, as ina motor, using only the energy contained in the atoms of permanent magnets. That's right. Johnson has discovered how to build motors that run without an input of electric- ity or any other kind of external energy! NEXUS - 51 FEBRUARY — MARCH 1999