Uploaded September 2013 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Gray LEGO Technic axle-towball bobs slide up over a propeller blade, then drop to engage and advance it by one notch.
Two aluminum balls are mounted 180° apart on a rotating wheel. On one side, brass-ball electrodes are positively charged to 18 kV; on the other, negatively charged. As the aluminum balls approach the positive electrodes, they acquire the same polarity and are repelled, while simultaneously attracted to the opposite-polarity electrodes—converting electrical potential into kinetic energy.
In the first cycle, the bob engages the propeller and advances it, but the resulting repulsion is too weak to swing the pendulum far enough to clear the next blade. On the second cycle, the balls approach closer to the electrodes, generating stronger repulsion and sufficient momentum to slide the bob over the next blade—repeating the process.
Watch how electrostatic charge transfer propels LEGO-based escapement mechanisms across multiple builds:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviFDr28b6FfLKd3jKW7fMr8j
#legoescapement #ElectrostaticMotor #SimpleHarmonicMotion #LegoClockEscapement #chargedparticles #pendulums #legoclockmechanism
Gray LEGO Technic axle-towball bobs slide up over a propeller blade, then drop to engage and advance it by one notch.
Two aluminum balls are mounted 180° apart on a rotating wheel. On one side, brass-ball electrodes are positively charged to 18 kV; on the other, negatively charged. As the aluminum balls approach the positive electrodes, they acquire the same polarity and are repelled, while simultaneously attracted to the opposite-polarity electrodes—converting electrical potential into kinetic energy.
In the first cycle, the bob engages the propeller and advances it, but the resulting repulsion is too weak to swing the pendulum far enough to clear the next blade. On the second cycle, the balls approach closer to the electrodes, generating stronger repulsion and sufficient momentum to slide the bob over the next blade—repeating the process.
Watch how electrostatic charge transfer propels LEGO-based escapement mechanisms across multiple builds:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviFDr28b6FfLKd3jKW7fMr8j
#legoescapement #ElectrostaticMotor #SimpleHarmonicMotion #LegoClockEscapement #chargedparticles #pendulums #legoclockmechanism
