Thanks for that information, I neglected to mention the LHR (left hand
rule) but here is a good description and animated image of how
Flemings rule works;
http://www.chilternweb.co.uk/physics/emag/right.html
I am fairly certain It does require current to move the ball and
that's the quandary as this is should be a purely electrostatic field.
The sooner we can get whatever details there are on the original ball
bearing experiment AND DUPLICATE IT, the sooner this thing might come
to a head.
I might have some time this week to drop by the Dallas Library and run
through all the 1960's Scientific Americans in search of a possible
'Amateur Experimenter' article on this ball bearing experiment.
If I find it, I'll post to KeelyNet and refer the URL to here. That
will also apply for the original mention about the Canadian science
fair project. Maybe with a larger group and with some details we
could figure something out with this, it remains quite intriguing to
me and I'm sure many others who might see the tie-in with the ball
bearing experiment.
---"James W. Kincaid III" wrote:
>
> Jerry W. Decker wrote:
>
> > One other item of weirdness that needs to be said. This spook
inventor
> > said he was using 22 or so gauge wire for his transformer coil,
wound in
> > a donut so that the donut was nearest the outer edges of the lower
> > plate, where the field density would be greatest.
> >
>
> Hi Jerry & others,
>
> Is there a clue in the above paragraph? I envision the ball
moving as a
> result of Fleming's rule. That is, if the donut is not toroidal
wound, then
> this transformer would produce a magnetic field with lines of force
entering
> one plate and exiting the other. With a magnetic field situated as
such, a
> voltage high enough to cause corona discharge from the top of the
ball and
> amperes sufficient to cause a small magnetic field in and around the
ball,
> would cause the ball to move as described. This is also reminiscent
of
> magnetohydrodynamics. As for why the ball does not fly off the
plate from
> centrifugal force, I would say that it is a combination of the
electrostatic
> field and the direction of the magnetic field lines near the outer
edge,
> which could be parallel with the plate depending on the size of the
"donut"
> transformer.
>
> All the best,
> James
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