I Made A Solenoid Engine!

less than 1m read

·Nov 10, 2024

I built a solenoid engine. Unlike most motors out there that hide how they work, this beauty bears all. A solenoid is a kind of electromagnet. When electricity flows through this coil, a magnetic field pulls the magnet-topped piston inside up. But when the piston reaches the top, a cam on the axle it’s turning cuts off the flow of electricity, and the flywheel's momentum pulls the piston back down.

But once down, the cam disengages, electrical flow resumes, and the piston goes up again. You can see how it turns electrical energy into rotational energy. To make this happen, my team and I got to design a bunch of custom cross axle compatible parts that I had been wanting for a long time: special cams, pistons, arms, wires, a heavy brass flywheel, and of course, the solenoids themselves.

We even made elliptical gears, Nautilus gears, and a Geneva mechanism. If you’d like to build one yourself and add these parts to your arsenal—too bad, so sad, psych! You can buy one! ABS plastic, ooh, and look at those colors! The first 500 people to use code "I love you Michael" will get 10% off.

Misconceptions About the Universe

National savings and investment | Financial sector | AP Macroeconomics | Khan Academy

View All

Photosynthesis evolution | Cellular energetics | AP Biology | Khan Academy

[Instructor] In this video, we are going to talk about the evolution of photosynthesis on Earth because that’s the only place that, at least so far, we’re aware of photosynthesis occurring. I personally believe that it’s occurring in many places in the un…

Bradley Cooper attempts to cross a snowy ravine on his own | Running Wild with Bear Grylls

Key things that Bradley needs to remember this morning is all the intricacies of firing that grappling gun. Then he’s got to secure that line; if necessary, use that Vector system to double up that strength. Then he’s got to commit to it and go for it bec…

Feathers in Flight: The Bird Genoscape Project | National Geographic

We are on the Kern River Preserve. It’s beautiful to walk on the preserve this time of year. The mornings are really cool. This time of year is also amazing because you’re hearing all the bird song earlier in the morning. The willow flycatcher is this sma…

Hunting With Falcons: How One City Man Found His Calling in the Wild | Short Film Showcase

I grew up in Riverside, California. I have two brothers and three sisters. My mom would take me out in the country sometimes and just drop me off, and I would just go explore. My fourth-grade teacher told me I’m not supposed to go off in the mountains and…

Don't Worry, Everything is Out of Control | Stoic Antidotes to Worry

Even though we can’t control the future, we’re worrying ourselves sick because of it. This could be because we don’t control the future. And this lack of control is the reason it frightens us. Or, we think we can control it by ‘thinking about it’ or perha…

Would you fly in a private jet without a pilot?

Hey Steve, would you ever fly on a plane without a pilot? Well, I would when the technology gets good enough. I don’t know if anybody else would. I think that, you know, people like to have that comfort factor of having somebody in the cockpit, even if th…

I Made A Solenoid Engine!

More Articles