When I ordered materials for a class set (500+) I was informed by the company that a security check is being run for orders over a certain amount.  That a limit was being placed on orders for ball bearings and that they were becoming more difficult to purchase.  As that was my only experience, I forwarded the information.  Thanks for your interest.

However, I would like to see details about the coil idea you had. If I understand the concept, it is good. Won't work in the fashion portrayed - for a few reasons but it may be a solution for other ideas.

BEP

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I am still working my way around the site and have not been able to locate the original thread on the LEGO perpetual motion.  Sorry.
At any rate, there was a post on the first page from someone who linked to the exact coil, schematic, and a picture of the 'perpetual motion' pendulum toy that was the source of my coils.  That is exactly what I used, including the battery.  The coil was exactly the one pictured in my video.  Less than a day after posting my video one of your members revealed its secrets.  I was impressed.

The coil works pretty much the way I describe it.  The magnet swings into the coil.  A small amount of current opens the base of a transistor.  This shoots a jolt of electricity from the 9v battery into the coil creating a repelling magnetic field, pushing the magnet back out again.  The toy has a pendulum motion so the KE is turned into GPE, the pendulum stops, and the cycle begins on the other side.  I had seen a perpetual motion device at the Toronto Science Museum back in the '80s and I identified some black 'blocks' as part of a rotating wheel.  I suspect that they had a similar coil/battery system in these blocks that 'powered' the device, but they also had some nice distractors. 

As my initial motivation dealt with Back EMF I tried to come up with a way that it could be used as an unbalanced force in a system.  That was the evolution of my device.  I have not taken a coil apart so I can't give you a winding ratio, but the toys are easy to find.  There is a source from China called dealextreme.com that has a plethora of toys.  Actually, they have some very small versions that are driven by solar cells.  Light shines on it and it swings back and forth all day.

Hope that helps.

When I ordered materials for a class set (500+) I was informed by the company that a security check is being run for orders over a certain amount.  That a limit was being placed on orders for ball bearings and that they were becoming more difficult to purchase.  As that was my only experience, I forwarded the information.  Thanks for your interest.

I am still working my way around the site and have not been able to locate the original thread on the LEGO perpetual motion.  Sorry.
At any rate, there was a post on the first page from someone who linked to the exact coil, schematic, and a picture of the 'perpetual motion' pendulum toy that was the source of my coils. 

Thanks for the info. 

Hugo Chavez,
I'm sorry that you felt so betrayed by my LEGO perpetual motion device.  I know that you were the one that posted it on this site and I also saw that, when others suggested that there might be a trick, you defended it.

The video was not intended to fool you or embarrass you in any way.

Too many people are too eager for simple solutions to complex issues.  I've run into quite a few of them in my career and it is difficult to persuade them that the road to true creativity is paved with hard work and many (many) failures along the way.  I created the video as a response to a specific person.  He wanted a simple solution so I offered it to him... using LEGOs.

When I realized how personally you took the whole adventure, I shared with you a specific story where I ignored signs of delusion from a former student (my son) hoping that it was instead an insight of genius (historically difficult to differentiate).  I never told you that he died, but rather that the police found him in a pool of blood when he thought he could resonate his body to the correct quantum harmonic and travel at the speed of light, and that he went through a pane of glass believing that he had achieved that goal.  He survived and was diagnosed as having the onset of manic depression (surprisingly common in college age people) and now trying to live with the condition.  Your responce to that was both insensitive and cruel; so I blocked you from my youtube site.

However, your anger and feelings of betrayal are ultimately the result of my LEGO adventure, and for that I am sorry.

I came here so that you could chastise me on the forum of your friends.  You have done that.

It would be a good idea to move on and, in the future, be a bit more skeptical.