ZPEnergy.com - Tubular homo polar generator

Poleorketes writes: To those who have an interest in homo polar generators of the type experimented with by Tewari, Trombly-Kahn, DePalma and others:

What if there were another configuration to the engineering of a homo polar generator than the standard method of running a magnetic field parallel to a rotating shaft and through a conducting spinning disk? Though someone may have formulated this alternate type of a homo polar generator, I have never read nor am I aware of anyone having put forth this idea nor having constructed any such homo polar generator mentioned below. It is my intention that the below information will serve as a public domain information. Any are free to make and make use of this information as they wish without royalty demands of another. In principle it is no more complex than the Faraday model.

Having made some study of these above mentioned devices by Tawari and De Palma and learning of some of their short comings I kept wondering why it is that at this point in time (since the coming of the age of neodymium magnets and not available in their time) no one has considered their use in an alternate configuration. Neodymium magnets can be had in what is termed as arc magnets. The magnets are designed for use to be mounted on drums or cylinders to serve as poles on a rotor in a motor or generator. The Faraday Dynamo or standard homo polar generator was made such that the magnetic field is parallel to the rotating axle through a rotating and conducting disc. With arc magnets we can mount them such that the field is now perpendicular to the axle, in other words on a drum circular about the axle with one magnetic field directed outward and the other inward toward the axle.

Let us say the north pole going outward and the south pole going inward toward the axle and then curving out the ends of the drum. (note figure 1). At this point it is interesting to note that the axle is serving as a magnet and since the south pole is directed out the ends of the drum the axle itself has become like a magnet that has a south pole at each end of the axle. Where the north pole might be in the axle I‘ll leave to the debating society.

A tubular conductor is placed over or under the magnets (the magnets can be difficult to mount in this fashion as they will not want to be mounted that way) the charge (also referenced to as a space charge) will separate to the ends of a conducting tube or copper sheet wrapped over or under where brushes at the ends can tap the current when the device is rotated. This new arrangement opens up all manner of possibility. It can allow for a lengthy drum - the addition of added drum segments of magnet sets which should increase voltage like stacking batteries in a flashlight.

It is should also be possible to mount magnets on the drum that alternate magnetic poles - in common fashion similar to a common motor and use back and forth wiring over the poles faces to multiple voltage, of course this can not be considered homo polar but rather poly polar (note figure 2). The reason for attempting this is to raise voltage to the point that exotic brushes need not be considered since much higher voltages can be achieved.

For those not familiar with this form of homo polar generator the reason for rotating the conductor with the field is to overcome the effect of the counter electro-motive force of the generator or circumvent undesired effect of Lenz‘s Law.

While I do not have the machine tools to make a good homo polar generator I was able to hand make parts that I assembled into a proof of concept generator. I was able to prove to my satisfaction that this tubular type of homo polar generator does work but can not say how well, I have no reason to think otherwise that it should prove just as valid a method as the Faraday Dynamo. Anyone with the tools is free to make their own.

There is another comment that I might make regarding the construction of these generators which the thoughtful experimenter will probably be aware of. The magnets themselves serve as conductors. It probably does not mater if the magnets of the homo polar generator are insulated from one another, the charge will separate to the ends. When it comes to the poly polar generator (fig.2) it may be best to insulate the magnets form one another as the charges in the juxtaposed magnets will go in conflicting directions and there will likely be eddy currents set up in un-insulated magnets that might cause some unwanted heating. And of course balance your rotor.

I do not know what speeds the experimenter will run these engines but I would encourage safety. If you are going to run these at very high speeds consider using carbon fiber as a reinforcement. When Balcones Research was doing their testing they did so in pits in the ground. If they fail, they explode and could kill or injure at high speeds. Hopefully no one is going to run them at such high speeds.

Poleorketes