American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1879-03-08
Gary's Magnetic Motor.

With an ordinary horseshoe magnet,
a bit of soft iron, and a common shingle-
nail, practical inventor, who for years
has been bordering over the power ly-
ing dormant in the magnet, now DEM
onstrates as his discovery fact of the
utmost Importance in magnetic science,
which has hitherto escaped the observa-
ton of both scientists and practical |
electricians, namely, the existence of a
neutral line in the magnetic field-a line
where the polarity of an induced mag
net ceases, and beyond which it changes.
With equally simple appliances he
shows the practical utilization of his
discovery in such way as to produce
a magnetic moter, thus opening up a
bewildering prospect of the possibilities
before us in revolutionizing the present
methods of motive power through the
substitution of a wonderfully cheap and
safe agent. By his achievement Mr..
Wesley w. Gary has quite upset the
theories of magnetic philosophy hither-
to prevailing, and lifted magnetism out
from among the static forces where sci
ence has placed it, to the position of
dynamic power. The Gary Magnetic
Motor, the result of Mr.. Gary's long
years of study, is, in word, simple
continuance which furnishes its own
power, and will run until worn out by
the force of friction, coming dangerous
/ ly near to that awful bugbear, perpetu-
al motion. -.
| At Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, Mr..
Gary made his first practical demon
stration, and allowed his discovery to
be examined and the fact published. He
had long been satisfied, from his exper
iments, that if he could devise "cut-
off, the means of neutralizing the at
tractive power of a stationary magnet
on another raised above it and adjusted
on pivot, unlike poles opposite, and
SO arrange this cutoff as to work au-
tomatically, he could produce motion
in a balanced magnet. To this end he
persistently experimental, and it was
only about four years ago that he made
the discovery, the key to his problem,
which is the basis of his present motor,
and upsets our philosophy. In expert
menting one day with piece of soft
iron upon magnet he made the dis
covery of the neutral line and the change
of polarity, not then recognizing its sig
nifcance, being absorbed entirely by
the discovery of the neutral line opened
up to him. Here was the point for his cut
off. For while he experimental entire
u, nth bottor;oo h,,t in Saptamhar 1874
he succeeded in obtaining movement
independent of the battery. In June,
the following year, Mr.. Gary exhibited
this continuous movement to a number
of gentlemen, protecting himself by
covering the cutoff with copper so as to
disguise the real material used, and
prevent any one from robbisg him OF
his discovery. The publication in the
local newspapers of the performance OF
the little machine, which was copied far
and wide, excited much interest. But
the inventor was by no means satisfied.
He had succeeded in securing a continu-
Gus motion but not a practical motor.
He had invented unique plaything
but not machine that would do man e
work. So he made further experiments
. in one direction and another, using for
! a long time the battery; and it was not
until after he moved to Boston (Which
: was about two years ago) that he was
convinced that the points in the
change of polarity, with which he was
SO little impressed when he first hit
upon them along with his discovery Of
the neutral line. were the true ones to
work upon. Thereafter his progress
was most rapid, and in little while he
had constructed working models, moi
only to his own satisfaction, but to that
of those experts who had the fairness
to give critical and thorough
, examination, clearly demonst-at-
ing his ability to secure mo-
ton and power, as they had never
before been secured, from self-feedine
} and self-acting machines. His claim, as
| he formally puts it, is this: al have dis
, covered that a straight piece of iror
, placed across the poles of a magnet, anG
near to their end, changes its polarity
while in the magnetic field and before i
comes in contact with the magnet, the
s fact being, however, that actual oontac
5 is guarded against. The conditions ar,
| GnaL Inc thickness OF C0G iron must o.
proportional to the power of the mag
net, and that the neutral line, or line O
, change in the polarity of the iron, i:
. nearer or more distant from the magne
3 according to the power of the latter ant
the thickness of the former. My Who'll,
discovery is based upon this change o
polarity in the iron with or without
battery" Power can be increased t.
t any extent, or diminished, by the add
r ton or withdrawal of magnets.
8 MIR. Gary is forty-one years old, hav
ing been born in 1887. During tn,
years devoted to working out his prob
lem he has sustained himself by the pro
5 ceeds from the sale of a few useful in
/. ventions made from time to time whel
a he was forced to turn aside from his ex
periments to raise funds. From the sal
D of one of these inventions--a simpl
: thing-he realized something like tel
thousand dollars. e NJ Bacon, tn Har
: per's Magazine for March.
The Great Anniversary.