Posted by Davis Landstrom (213.122.40.202) on December 29, 2001 at 19:00:30:
Greg Watson has aparently constructed a self running SMOT circuit and has kindly given all the information on how to build two variants of this interesting little device on the jln labs web site. This device is in his own words a tricky thing to build, percise adjustments have to be made, and the end product won't produce usefull amounts of energy, it is nothing more than a perpetual motion toy. I was in the process of constructing my own variant, I had purchased all the track and manufactured the ramps and the steel keepers, but I found out that the ramp sizes were too small so I will have to start over.
As for the hydraulic perpetual motion machine idea, I can only see a problem if the weights are not sufficiantly lubricated, this is the only way they would cease up. I think that using uneven numbers of weights and pistons is a good idea as it would disrupt the geometry so to speak. Another idea is to use a geometric arrangement of pistons and weights for your rotor, but to use more than one rotor at different stages in rotation all fixed along a common shaft.
This device could be manufactured in such a way that should it work, you could see all the components. The piston casing could be constructed from a transparent perspex tube, the weights could be made quite easily, I would melt down Bismuth (which melts at about 400 degrees C) and mold it into cylinders that would fit snugly in the tubes. Bismuth is a good metal to use in this instance as it is non toxic unlike lead or mercuary, and it has a higher atomic mass than those two so will weigh more. Perhaps a medium less viscous than water could be used?