Uploaded December 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Mendocino motor is a solar-powered magnetically levitated electric motor. It consists of a rotor shaft with an array of solar panels and electromagnetic coils arranged in a barrel shape around the centre of the shaft; this rotor is horizontally mounted in a frictionless radial bearings over a central magnet on the base plate of the motor. The final 6th degree of freedom, the axial or thrust direction, is not levitated, but rather supported by a steel ball point of contact (low friction).
The Mendocino motor is a solar-powered magnetically levitated electric motor. It consists of a rotor shaft with an array of solar panels and electromagnetic coils arranged in a barrel shape around the centre of the shaft; this rotor is horizontally mounted in a frictionless radial bearings over a central magnet on the base plate of the motor. The final 6th degree of freedom, the axial or thrust direction, is not levitated, but rather supported by a steel ball point of contact (low friction).
