Quote from: broli on May 04, 2009, 07:46:59 PM

@tdan, isn't that the obvious thing? I believe what butch is showing how with little effort (the rotation) you can make a bar attract very strongly or very little.

Butch are you working on any particular design? You posted so many good designs but it doesn't seem like someone's going to use their dusty machine shop to do you a favor :p.

  Well that is the thing I feel it is very obvious that in order for the magnet in the middle to move you would need a mechanical force which would use to much energy and would take away from what you are trying to attract and repell.

Butch this is my theory on why the steel bars react the way the do. Please do not take this the wrong way, every body is so heated about mylow and everything. But I feel you are wrong on the magnetic flux making a complete connection around the bars. In your other video's you have them facing the opposite ways(north to south) which would make a complete circuit. Insted, since you have the norths facing the same way they repell each other and push the flux of both magnets to the end of the bars. As to the neutral spot in the middle, since all three magnet poles are facing the same way you are noticing a weaker form of repelling since the mags are so far apart. When you turn the magnet around (south to north) in the middle you are actually pulling the flux back into the middle of the bars and away from the bar on the end. That is why it is easier to take that bar off.               I bet if you can look at the flux of the two magnets(north to north) it would look like two butterflies side by side smashing the wings together on the inside.      Let me know what you think.