TL;DR The energy is not being created freely, so why shouldn't it work?
We have all seen the YouTube "perpetual motion" machines. You know, the computer fans with magnets taped on them and hidden 9 volts in the center. However, after following these scams for years and even designing a few myself, it got me thinking. Can we make an energy-producing magnet wheel without providing energy ourselves?
Magnets have domains in them where their electrons are spinning in the same way so the magnetic field is not canceled, resulting in a net magnetic field.
According to thermodynamics, these electrons are naturally moving back to a random direction. Magnets do not last forever. Therefore, could we use the strong power of magnetism to generate electricity much like a generator? Can we make a wheel spin with magnets?
Here is what makes this NOT a perpetual motion machine. Although some types of magnets can be found naturally, materials are required energy to become magnetic. Entropy wants disorder and the air around the magnets jiggle the domains of electrons back to random directions. The domain directions are nonspontaneous while identical; energy must be provided to create these magnets.
I like to imagine magnets as some sort of magnetic batteries. Let's take the NdFeB. Once powered, according to neodymiumearthmagnets, the magnet will last 10 years. The domains are repositioning during this time until as neutral as before.
All of this was basically to get the idea into your head that these machines are not truly perpetual motion. This could mean that it makes sense for magnets to beat the other forces and spin. The energy is coming from somewhere.
What do you think? Are there strong enough magnets to beat the forces? If so, would it be efficient enough? More importantly, is any of this wrong? What can I take from this?
TL;DR The energy is not being created freely, so why shouldn't it work?