Linear V-Track Magnet Spring by Brian Berrett
Brian Berrett of e-volks.com made this device a couple of years ago, and I’m finally getting a video of it up on YouTube. He’d probably make more if you would like to get one from him. It consists of two iron L-tracks fastened to a wood base in a slight “V” configuration. Along one track, the square magnets are attached with the “N” facing inward. Along the other track, with approximately the same even spacing, the square magnets are attached with the “S” facing inward. If I remember correctly, the magnets are neodymium. I think the ball being placed on the aluminum track in the middle is made of steel. It’s not a magnetetic ball. I put a piece of folded paper under the far end of the apparatus to give it a slight elevation above level, to show that the ball is pulled up-hill by the magnets. At first, in looking at this, one might wonder if several of these were placed one after the other in a circle, that the ball might go from one to the next and continue going around without stopping, to demonstrate that magnets can be arranged to provide a primary energy source. To test this theory, I borrowed a Hot-Wheels track from my boy and taped it to the end of the aluminum track with a slight decline, rather than the 45-degree end of the aluminum track, followed by the end of the wood. What happened in that case was that the ball accelerated up the track, but then, when it hit the Hot-Wheels track, rather than proceed forward, following the track downhill, it went about an inch …
