Marble perpetual motion machine - GIF

[Hoosiersmoker]

So the toy in the first video looks like the top piece is a solid block of wood, you can see there's apparently no battery like in the second video and you get a good look through the hole too but the helper wheel could be just beyond view. Could be the first one has a strategically placed magnet in the base?

[Frank S]

So the toy in the first video looks like the top piece is a solid block of wood, you can see there's apparently no battery like in the second video and you get a good look through the hole too but the helper wheel could be just beyond view. Could be the first one has a strategically placed magnet in the base?

If you put it on full screen and stop the action at the .02 you can see the separation line of the door to the battery compartment

[CharlesWaugh]

HOLD THE PRESSES!
I'm not so that the solution I posted is the solution to THIS particular made-from-wood machine.
HERE is a higher quality (and longer version) of the same video.

Things to ponder:
1) What are the two holes on the underside of the base near the back end?
2) Why does the ball SLAM forward after it lands in the 'cup'? (I mean, it just WHACKS the front of the cup after it's bounce!)
3) What are the two little discolorations on the underside of the 'cup' (seen during the tilt-and-turn portion of the video)

Any smart ideas out there?

Myself, I'm leaning towards a magnetized coil in the 'funnel' of the cup. The two holes in the base are for charging a hidden battery. Maybe a momentary-on pressure switch is part of one of the feet (set it down and the coil is energized). Or, does the coil pull current if it isn't adding energy to the ball so no need for a switch?
And, how WOULD it add energy to the ball?
Hmmmm... maybe it's a magnetic ball (which can be bought) and the wire rails are non-magnetic stainless. Then you would have an 'armature' (ball) moving through a stator field. Might work!

Then again, the ball circles the cup a LOT on the first run, then it SLAMS around and jumps in the hole pretty quick thereafter.
I wonder if there is a switch that energizes the coil when the ball FIRST drops through (hence, the lazy circling motion), then the coil is continuously energized and the ball is PULLED towards the hole after hitting the back of the cup, overunns the hole to the front and then dribbles in to the hole again.

Any more ideas?

BTW: THANK YOU Altair for the original post - great fun!

[carloski]

I call B.S. on this one!

[think7]

https://www.amazon.com/Perpetual-Mar.../dp/B09VPYCQMV

[CharlesWaugh]

Well, I had to ask my brother.
He collects even more od bits of trivia than I do.

There is a coil in the 'cup'.

As the ball drops through the hole, it becomes a conductor moving through a magnetic field, which creates force.
So it's a solenoid in essence.

The ball is shot downwrds with enough additional energy to overcome gravity and friction to be launched up into the cup.

The guy on Amzon who makes and sells them is quite a craftsman, the joinery in the wood parts is seamless so it's not easily seen and is therefore quite 'mysterious'.

I want one!