Interview: Transforming Motion with Electrostatic Motors

Why no discussion about using them in electric cars?

Electrostatic motors (less than 1 HP) are nowhere near powerful enough to power an electric car.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/amp/electrostatic-motor-2668972935

I hear a lot of claims from this company, but no demonstration of proof, or cost for that matter...It seems like a scam...It all sounds too good to be true, and you know what they say about that...next they're going to say it's powered by an E-cat...haha

I'm guessing not much torque there...

Synchronous Motors

Synchronous motors, or switched reluctance motors (SRMs), eliminate the need for current to flow into the rotor at all. This is possible due to the synchronization of current frequency and the magnetic field generated by the winding. The shaft and magnetic field rotate in lockstep with current oscillation, driven by the stator's sophisticated electromagnet geometry.

This reduces internal rotor resistance, regardless of its position, increasing flux availability for maximum conversion. It also breaks the dependency on fast rotor speeds to attain higher efficiency. Synchronous motors are capable of producing near-perfect conversion of electrical and mechanical energy, making up to 99% efficiency rates possible. Synchronous motors can also provide higher power with more compact designs, as well as superior torque at lower speeds.

https://www.pelonistechnologies.com/blog/comparing-the-efficiency-of-different-electric-motor-types

The big difference between magnetic fields and electric fields is that there are electrically charged particles in nature but no magnetically charged particles, i.e., magnetic monopoles. There is no limit to the strength of a magnetic field, but a strong enough electric field causes electrons to "jump the gap". This limits the power of an electrostatic motor.

Electrostatic motors, however, come into their own at very small scales where the components can be more easily constructed compared to those of an electromagnetic motor.

Yes they might have a niche to fill, but they would have to be cheap to buy, robust in design, and I would hate to get zapped with 2000 volts, so safe as well...

I will withhold judgement on this for now.

A single lithium/ion cell will not hold much chemical energy, but when combined with thousands of others, they add up.

There are plenty of inventors that were told: "That will never work" that have eaten their words. With Christmas coming up, I am sure to get enough turkey to eat.

Who knows what Tesla was up to with his "Free energy for the world". As soon as the powers that be at the time found out he was going to give it away, he lost funding and his projects were dismantled and sold for scrap. Suitcases full of his notes disappeared after they were transcribed and reviewed by the FBI.

There is not much info available that has not been sterilized for public consumption.

The ionosphere is filled with charged particles, maybe he had a way of harnessing this energy? Perhaps synchronizing with the Earth's Magnetic field for wireless transfer of energy?

The space shuttle dangled a long wire behind it and to their surprise, the current was so strong it broke the strand. It also slightly slowed the shuttle. Later, they discovered that if they pumped energy into the strand, it caused the shuttle to increase speed. This effect could be used to keep satellites in orbit forever. Charge them up with solar cells, and discharge them at night, no external fuel on board required.

I am sure some said "That will never work".

The Space Tether Experiment.

https://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wtether.html

Actually, it's a magnetic motor/generator.

The tether wire failure was found to be due to air trapped inside the insulated wire. As the wire was paid out, the air escaped and was ionized by the high voltage, providing a short circuit, and the resulting current melted the wire.

" The electric conductor of the tether was a copper braid wound around a nylon string. It was encased in teflon-like insulation, with an outer cover of kevlar, a tough plastic also used in bullet-proof vests, all this inside a nylon sheath. The culprit turned out to be the innermost core, made of a porous material which, during its manufacture, trapped many bubbles of air, at atmospheric pressure.

Later vacuum-chamber experiments suggested that the unwinding of the reel uncovered pinholes in the insulation. That in itself would not have caused a major problem, because the ionosphere around the tether, under normal circumstance, was too rarefied to divert much of the current. However, the air trapped in the insulation changed that. As it bubbled out of the pinholes, the high voltage ("electric pressure") of the nearby tether, about 3500 volts, converted it into a plasma (in a way similar to the ignition of a fluorescent tube), a relatively dense one and therefore a much better conductor of electricity.

The instruments aboard the tether satelite showed that this plasma diverted through the pinhole about 1 ampere, a current comparable to that of a 100-watt bulb (but at 3500 volts!), to the metal of the shuttle and from there to the ionospheric return circuit. That current was enough to melt the cable."

https://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wtether.html

It shows how a simple problem can trip you up in the harsh environment of space.

It might come as a surprise to note that there is a connection between the historical use of the horse as a road transport power provider and the term "horsepower", a unit of power that has been generalised to around 746W in metric terms. It is into this domain that any replacement for the horse must appear viable.

Otherwise one might just as well retain use of the horse - a sunlight-to-biomass-to-useful-work device.

They should have a dog power too...like 6 dog power equals one horsepower, then maybe mouse power, 100 mouse power equals one dog power...

I think I heard my Father mention "flea power" for clock motors. Guessing, 1950s?

Found this, on that...

..."Flea power is the static electricity that remains in a computer after it's been turned off and the battery removed. It can cause a computer to not turn on or boot into the operating system. To drain flea power, also known as performing a hard reset, you can:

1. Turn off the computer
2. Disconnect the power adapter
3. Remove the base cover
4. Remove the battery
5. Press and hold the power button for at least 15 seconds

• Install the battery

• Install the base cover

• Connect the power adapter

• Turn on the computer

You should drain flea power before removing or replacing any computer components. "...

You will never totally eliminate flea power. A capacitor can never be totally discharged or charged.

A poem was written many years ago, and it applies here:

Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em,
And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so on ad infinitum.

Guess this is sorta like the wonderment I've heard: Perhaps our solar system is just an atom in a much larger universe. Extrapolating from that, perhaps our expanding universe is just a stretching membrane in that much larger universe--like a balloon being inflated.

That's a fair way from <...Electrostatic Motors...>, eh?

They might end up using graphene infused copper wires to enhance efficiency...

"Graphene Found to Boost Conductivity of Copper

In a surprising result, adding the carbon-based graphene to metal to make electrical wires resulted in significant performance enhancements."

https://www.designnews.com/metals/graphene-found-to-boost-conductivity-of-copper

Still kinda pricey at this time...

https://www.amazon.com/Conductive-Crystal-Graphene-Prepared-%CE%A60-15mm%C3%971000mm/dp/B07WDQR5JF?gQT=1&th=1