Japanese inventor comes up with a super eficient electric motor.

[JohnyCanuck]

Minato's motors consume just 20 percent or less of the power of conventional motors with the same torque and horse power. They run cool to the touch and produce almost no acoustic or electrical noise. They are significantly safer and cheaper (in terms of power consumed), and they are sounder environmentally.

The implications are enormous. In the US alone, almost 55 percent of the nation's electricity is consumed by electric motors. While most factory operators buy the cheapest motors possible, they are steadily being educated by bodies like NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) that the costs of running a motor over a typical 20-year lifespan comprise a purchase price of just 3 percent of the total, and electricity costs of 97 percent. It is not unusual for a $2,000 motor to consume $80,000 of electricity (at a price of .06 cents per kilowatt hour).

Since 1992, when efficiency legislation was put into place at the US federal level, motor efficiency has been a high priority -- and motors saving 20 percent or so on electrical bills are considered highly efficient. Minato is about to introduce a motor which saves 80 percent, putting it into an entirely new class: The $80,000 running cost will drop to just $16,000. This is a significant savings when multiplied by the millions of motors used throughout the USA and Japan -- and eventually, throughout the world.

<snip>

The magnetic motor will be cheaper than a standard motor to make, as the rotor and stator assemblies can be set into plastic housings, due to the fact that the system creates very little heat. Further, with the motor's energy efficiency, it will be well suited for any application where a motor has limited energy to drive it. While development is still focused on replacing existing devices, Minato says that his motor has sufficient torque to power a vehicle.


http://www.japan.com/technology/index.php

[Waistdeep]

1. More voodoo science here

"Next we move to a unit with its motor connected to a generator. What we see is striking. The meters showed an input to the stator electromagnets of approximately 1.8 volts and 150mA input, and from the generator, 9.144 volts and 192mA output. 1.8 x 0.15 x 2 = 540mW input and 9.144 x 0.192 = 1.755W out."

"But according to the laws of physics, you can't get more out of a device than you put into it. We mention this to Kohei Minato while looking under the workbench to make sure there aren't any hidden wires."

"Minato assures us that he hasn't transcended the laws of physics. The force supplying the unexplained extra power out is generated by the magnetic strength of the permanent magnets embedded in the rotor. "I'm simply harnessing one of the four fundamental forces of nature," he says."
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Either the reporter doesn't understand how to calculate AC power (you need to consider the phase difference between voltage and current as well as the magnitude of voltage and current) or the instrumentation is fake. Minato's "explanation" is total BS. Consequently I will doubt any of the other "factual" information in the article.

Added on edit: He may very well have an efficient electrical motor, but the demo discussion in the article is complete perpetual motion bafflegab. I can't believe the writer swallowed it.

[Florida_Geek]

2. It will be interesting to see if this is real or not

But if it is real, a lot of money will be spent in the next couple years, and a lot of oil saved. I am thinking about ships and trains that use diesel-electric motors.

[Waistdeep]

3. I guarantee this is a fraud

This guy has been doing this for years. Look here to see him "amazing" people in 1998. http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=35A2EC73.2744%40earthlink.net&oe=UTF-8&output=gplain

Today's efficient electric motors are about 90% efficient. You get back in mechanical energy 90% of the energy you put in as electrical energy. For a motor to consume 20% of the energy of a 90% efficient motor means you get out 450% of what you put in. It ain't gonna happen, folks.