I mean, I always used to fancy as a kid why can’t we use magnets to keep a fan going in circles? Why can”t we create a perpetual machine using magnets? Even if the magnets get worn out, we can still use them for considerable time. What is the science behind it that makes it impossible?
In: Engineering
Imagine every single magnet as having a spring to every single other magnet.
Either the springs are pulling or pushing.
The key that stops perpetual motion is that no matter how far away two magnets are they are tracking force between them. It doesn’t turn on or off after getting far enough away, the force simply dies down at a predictable constant rate. (Inverse square if I remember correctly)
There’s really nothing for anything to come to. Sure you can twist this web of springs so it sproings back into place but the system is going to eventually fall back into equilibrium. It needs outside power to keep moving
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