Mendocini Solar Motor

Model engineering exhibitions are just the place to find such oddities. The underlying mechanism is pretty easy to explain: A current flows in a coil due to the energy provided by a photovoltaic cell. To minimize frictional losses, the rotor is levitated by the magnetic field of permanent magnets. An end plate prevents the shaft from sliding axially. The axial bearing is made from a small ball resting on POM or glass, minimizing friction.
The only "trick" is the antiparallel connection of each pair of opposite solar cells to the coil.  


Good quality Mendocini motors can now be purchased from various vendors. I leave it up to you to figure out if you think that building such a motor from scratch may not seem worthwhile anymore.
I posted a video on Youtube.
 

back