The Simple Magnetic Overunity Toy (SMOT) was invented in 1985 by Greg Watson from Australia. It is a type of magnet motor. The SMOT claims to produce more energy than it uses, which is called "over-unity" energy. This would mean it creates more energy than it needs to operate, similar to a perpetual motion machine.

Overview

In the theoretical SMOT design, a steel ball is pulled up a ramp by a group of permanent magnets. At the top of the ramp, the ball falls, changing magnetic attraction into kinetic energy. A SMOT-like structure is shown in Emil T. Hartman's patent. Watson claims that a process called regauging allows the cycle to repeat without needing outside energy.

Perpetual motion ("over-unity") has not been achieved with a SMOT. The ball can move from the starting point of one SMOT to the starting point of another (and a third, fourth, etc.). By arranging multiple SMOTs in a circle, the ball can travel along the SMOTs, creating the appearance of over-unity. However, the ball cannot return to its original starting place without adding energy to make up for energy lost due to friction or other factors in the system.

Construction

The SMOT includes a non-magnetic inclined plane, a line of permanent magnets, a steel ball, and a non-magnetic track (such as aluminum). Some versions use two long bar magnets instead of the line of permanent magnets. The inclined plane has a very gentle slope, but it is still enough to allow the steel ball to gain height.

The track is placed directly in the center of the inclined plane, and its surface is almost even with the plane’s surface. The permanent magnets are long bar magnets with their poles located on the long sides. These magnets are positioned almost parallel to the track, but the poles closest to the top of the inclined plane are nearer to the track than the poles near the bottom. The steel ball moves upward along the track because the magnetic pull is stronger when the magnets are closer to the ball and to each other. This creates an overall force that pushes the ball upward. It is important that the magnets get progressively closer to the ball to maintain this upward force. The track keeps the ball separated from the magnets. If the track is not built carefully, a small mistake could cause the steel ball to leave the track and collide with one of the magnets.

Analysis of operation

At the starting point, the ball has potential energy because it is placed there by the magnets. When the ball is released, this potential energy changes into kinetic energy as the ball moves up the track and then falls from the top. The total amount of kinetic and potential energy remains the same throughout the motion, except for energy lost due to friction. The ball never has more energy than it had when it was first placed in position.

The magnetic field created by stationary permanent magnets is a type of field that does not add or remove energy from objects moving through it. This means that if an object, like the ball, moves in a closed loop within this field, it does not gain energy from the field. Without friction, the ball would end the cycle with the same total energy (kinetic plus potential) it started with. However, because all moving objects experience friction, which uses up kinetic energy, the ball always ends each cycle with less energy than it started with. Over time, this energy loss causes the ball to stop moving completely.