From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!KATZ@USC-ISIF Newsgroups: net.physics Title: Perpetual motion Article-I.D.: sri-unix.4986 Posted: Thu Dec 30 14:10:44 1982 Received: Sat Jan 1 02:11:07 1983 From: Alan R. KatzHow it works: This is a really clever device. Inside the base there is a coil of wire, with a smaller coil of wire on it, a transister, and a battery. The top is a permanent magnet. The spinning top, therefore creates a time varying magnetic field. When the top spins near the center of the base, the spinning top induces an electric field in the smaller coil of wire which triggers the transister to switch power from the battery to the larger coil of wire. This in turn pushes the top away from the center, which turns off the system since the top is no longer inducing current in the smaller coil. So, as the top spins down, it goes to the center, which activates the system in the base to give it a push magnetically. There are indeed no permanent magnets in the base, however, the top has a permanent magnet in it. The energy to keep the top going comes from a nine volt battery inside the base. The device is called, believe it or not: TOP SECRET Alan -------