In reply to Horace Heffner's message of Sat, 16 May 2009 00:33:46 -0800: Hi, [snip] >On May 15, 2009, at 10:54 AM, [email protected] wrote: > >> http://www.worldnpa.org/php2/index.php? >> tab0=Scientists&tab1=Scientists&tab2=Display&id=1000 > > >The "Experiments" section is interesting. > >http://www.worldnpa.org/php2/index.php?tab0=Experiments > >especially the experiment: > >http://www.worldnpa.org/php2/index.php? >tab0=Experiments&tab1=Display&id=5 > >http://tinyurl.com/orcekf > >which states the (magnetic) force of attraction is larger than the >force of repulsion. This looks wrong to me, and disagrees with other >experimental results. Perhaps Kopernicky did not switch the two >magnets, and thus the two masses being suspended differ? In the >first experiment the top magnet is being suspended against gravity, >and in the second it is the bottom magnet. It is necessary to switch >the two if they don't have the same mass.
When two magnets are arranged to attract one another the field lines tend to concentrate in the volume between them, whereas when they repel one another the field lines tend to splay out and fill a larger volume. I wonder if that might explain any difference? [snip] Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/Project.html
