Magnetic Accelerator Paradox

Place three seemingly identical spheres on a 1-meter horizontal track touching each other. Roll another sphere slowly into the spheres at rest. Wow! All of a sudden the last sphere takes off with tremendous velocity. Available from Educational Innovations, Inc. at www.teachersource.com

Category:

Education

Tags:

• magnets
• science
• physics
• education
• discrepant events

[Gunbardo]

What just happened at the last three seconds? The last ball flashed and then it stopped completely?????

[EducateInnovate]

@Gunbardo The last ball shot off the end very quickly. It disappears off the edge of the frame.

[Gwillz15]

what if you made it a circle of speed?

[EducateInnovate]

@phthisicy If you look more closely, you may notice that the ball on the end goes flying farther than the conservation of momentum could take it. There are magnets involved with this demonstration, making it operate differently from the Newton's Cradle, the product to which you are referring.

[aomimezura11]

the energy for this is stored by pulling the magnets apart, just like lifting an object against gravity. there's no perpetual motion here...

[Isaiahritchey]

build one up and lets see what happens...

[mondonem]

put thousands of these now...

[boredalex1]

@Gwillz15 You would get a miniature LHC except with balls instead of atoms

[guitpla304]

the magnet accelerates the trigger ball, making more perpetual motion, creating more energy. :/

[XxcoomiekidxX]

its called a gauss gun

[gpoquiztube]

@Gwillz15 i believe its happened

[Booth272]

This is not a paradox at all and can be explained by simple high school physics. There is magnetic potential energy built up in the balls and when released, that energy is converted into kinetic. This is no perpetual motion machine idea though, it's simply the basis for a Gaussian accelerator.