» MAKE: NOISE — Discuss this article

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• Wire
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  Thought I'd share a site that appears to sell wire much cheaper than Mouser: http://www.bulkwire.com/wire-cable/magnet-wire.html
  
  (I say "appears" because I haven't bought any yet so maybe they tack on huge shipping costs.)

  Posted by DeegC on October 18, 2010 at 19:40:51 Pacific Time

• Wire
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  Hi DeegC,
  
  Thanks for reading my article on flying aluminum rings using electromagnetism.
  I like the idea of finding a place where I can buy magnet wire more reasonably priced. If you were successful please let everybody else know, including moi.
  By the way, is there any interest out there in Quantum electrodynamics. I've been fascinated by this theory for quite a few years. I've written a piece on it and I wonder if anybody out there would be interested in reading it.
  
  Tom Fox
  
  

  Posted by Tom Fox on November 04, 2010 at 17:08:42 Pacific Time

• Wire
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  Thanks for the link with cheaper wire. Out of curiosity, what will the affect be of using a different gauge wire? I found a bargain on 16, 20 and 24 gauge magnet wire, but the plans call for 18.

  Posted by wsp2 on November 18, 2010 at 14:52:23 Pacific Time

• Wire
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  Hi dsp2 ,
  
  I am sure the 16 and 20 gauge copper wires will also work. Also I am sure that if you tested the aluminum levitator with the same length of three sizes of wires, 16, 18 and 20 gauge, the 16 gauge wire will do the best job since it will allow more current to flow through it (lower inherent dc resistance). However, the greater current would possibly blow the fuse before the ring takes off. Using a higher amperage fuse can cause other problems and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you really know what you are doing. Keep in mind that there is quite a bit of inductive reactance here and not just dc resistance so this inductive reactance is normally the limiting factor concerning current. Also keep in mind that the magnetic field that affects the aluminum ring is proportional to (among other things) the number of turns of wire times the instantaneous current through the wires. (Of course, the aluminum isn’t affected directly by the absolute value of the magnetic field, just the rate of change of the field—say from very intense to nothing or nothing to very intense) This implies that lighter wire (like #24) has too much dc resistance to use with 120VAC—of course, if you use higher voltage this will compensate for it but then you might have problems with insufficient wire insulation and, of course, safety so that isn’t recommended.
  
  In short, why not try the 16 gauge wire and use, say 250 to 300 feet of it instead of just 200 feet! Make sure you wind it tight and neat, though!
  
  Good luck and have fun!
  
  Tom Fox
  

  Posted by Tom Fox on November 19, 2010 at 10:51:26 Pacific Time

• Flying rings
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  I built this device years ago, before getting a EE degree. As I understand it, the device is basically a transformer with an open secondary, until some non-magnetic material is placed in the magnetic field. That conductor then becomes a shorted turn, with a lot of current flowing in it. And, whoosh .. away it goes. Or it floats.
  The design shown can be improved by :
  * Removing the aluminum tube - it acts as another shorted turn, and weakening the available magnetic field from the iron core. It should also reduce the current drain considerably
  * Replace the solid core with a bunch of thin iron bars - like you find at a hardware or home center store. This breaks up the eddy current in the core and cuts down on the losses.(heat)
  
  Transformer action can be demonstrated by lowering a coil of wire over the core with a light bulb across the ends.
  
  Phillip Milks
  phillipmilks@netzero.com

  Posted by phillipmilks@netzero.com on November 04, 2010 at 12:27:54 Pacific Time

• Flying rings
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  Thanks for your interest in my article, Phillip.
  I am a bit confused about your comment about removing the aluminum tube. To make the aluminum rings I cut inch long pieces off the aluminum tube. I did not put the tube itself over the iron rod. That's a great idea about replacing the solid iron rod with a bunch of thin iron bars or perhaps rods. However, the gizmo works great as is...a bit more emf and electrons per second and you wonder how far those rings will go...
  
  Tom Fox

  Posted by Tom Fox on November 04, 2010 at 17:02:02 Pacific Time

• Aluminum Levitator
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  I built the levitator from your article with the following changes.
  
  To precisely control the voltage to the coil I used a 555 timer to send a 40msec operating pulse to an A.C. solid state relay rated at 25amps. Thus when the 555 timer was triggered it turned on the solid state relay sending a 40msec pulse of 120vac to the coil. The time was more then enough to send the ring up to the top. Using the relay also eliminated the problems with triggering the coil with too long a pulse and blowing the fuse. It also keeps the coil very cool.
  
  I also found that the 1 lb spool of #18awg magnet wire came wound on a plastic coil with an inside diameter of 3/4". Thus the 3/4" dia bar of CRS steel that I bought fit inside the hole perfectly. This along with the fact that the wire at the beginning of the coil stuck out enoungh so I was able to grab both ends of the coil and wire it into the circuit without having to rewind the coil around the bar. The inside of the spool also made a good insulator between the coil and the steel bar. OF course you have to ground everything properly and fuse the circuit.
  
  Thanks for a good article
  engineerxx

  Posted by ccnyeng on July 18, 2011 at 13:43:21 Pacific Time