Propulsion Without Wheels

In 1947 the author began research into linear induction motors as shuttle drives in weaving looms.

Although this idea was by no means new, having first been suggested in 1895, one new principle was discovered, namely that it was possible to arrange two linear motors back-to-back so as to produce continuous oscillation without the use of any switching device. Further investigations were carried out into the use of linear motors for conveyors and as propulsion units for railway vehicles. By 1961 the research had aroused sufficient interest to be included in one of the series of B.B.C. television programmes ‘Eye on Research’.

This programme added considerably to the public interest in linear induction motors and development was further stimulated by a discourse entitled ‘Electrical Machines of the Future’,?) which the author was invited to deliver to the Royal Institution in March 1962. A common feature of this discourse and the ‘Eye on Research’ programme was the large number of demonstration models, several of which were amusing as well as instructive.

A large number of letters was received, mostly from science teachers and school children, asking how the models were made and whether they could be operated in school laboratories. Such was the interest that it was decided to write the present work with the two-fold purpose of satisfying the wants of the reader who wished to know more about the applications of linear motors, and providing ‘do-it-yourself’ sections for the science teacher or amateur experimenter to enable them to construct good working models without the frustration of several unsuccessful attempts which usually accompanies early efforts to produce electromagnetic devices. These sections are in smaller type and may be omitted by the reader who wishes to maintain continuity without going into details of construction.