Perpetual Motion and magnets...?

Question

Second question of mine here...

Okay, if you had a non-magnetic tube, and inside this tube were three magnets. The magnet in the center is free to spin around and thus exert it's negative and positive forces to different ends of the tube. Now, attach to the same point on the central magnet two small strings connected to the other two magnets, and another small string connecting the two side magnets.

Have both end magnets have the same polarity toward the center magnet(lets say it's the negative side for this). You start the magnets off with one close to the center (magnet1) magnet and one away (magnet2). Magnet2 is far and thus it's string is extending so that only the negative portion of the center magnet is facing Magnet1. Being repelled away by the center magnet, magnet1 will pull it's string tight and thus turn the center magnet and at the same time pull magnet2 toward the center. Magnet2 would then be repelled by the center magnet and would pull it's string to cause the center magnet to turn again and pull magnet1 to the center.

Wouldn't this create perpetual motion? Even though you'd need to use some for of energy to start the process, wouldn't the repelling of the magnets and pull of the center magnet when it's opposite faces one of the side magnets create it's own motion?

Answer 1

  Perpetual motion is not possible even in orbit.

  It must operate with no input of energy and building a machine with absolutely no friction can't be done.

  If you tried to extract energy from an orbiting body it would slow down and crash.

Answer 2

Energy will be lost in each pull of the string. Eventually the magnets will reach a equilibrium state.

Answer 3

I hate to be pedantic, but perpetual motion is impossible. If a train of thought or math or whatever leads you to a PM machine, then that proves that your train of thought or math has a mistake.

Go through the math, and you will see it will not work.

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