<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html>   BobDavis88@aol.com wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>Imagine holding a 10-lb. sack of sugar. You feel it as ten pounds. Now attach a powerful magnet to the bottom of the sack, and a powerful repelling magnet in your hand. The magnets might not touch, but is the sugar lighter? No. It might even float a few inches in the air, but you still feel ten pounds of weight in your hand, the same as if it were sitting on top of a coil spring which you were holding.  </blockquote> This is exactly true. Given a strong enough magnet it could float in the air... which is much the same thing as raising the sugar with a small post.... except the post would be visable, and non compresseble. Which is why again I call this a virtual capstan / heel. It functions more like putting a secondary capstan and heel on the key and whippen then anything else... again except for the compressebility.   <blockquote TYPE=CITE>This is because the magnets are part of the lever system. In order to actually remove weight from the system, they have to be external to it. This is true as well of springs. Wippen assist springs are external to the system. Their  force acts against the support flange, and in turn upon the [theoretically rigid] wippen mount rail. In order for a pair of magnets to store potential energy in the deformation of the magnetic field, one of them must be mounted outside the moving part of the system; i. e., on the action frame.  </blockquote> I am not removeing weight from the system per se... I am altering the ratio with respect to weight, without altering the ratio with respect to distance. <blockquote TYPE=CITE>  I think Richard should re-do his measurements.</blockquote> Measurements have been checked so many times now I dont think there is any reason to doubt that those are correct. I suggest any of you having difficulty envisioning how this works, set up an action model yourself. Neodym magnets are availalbe at some hardware stores... or in the US you can order at <a href="http://www.wondermagnets.com/cgi-bin/edatcat/WMSstore.pl?user_action=list&category=Magnets_and_Magnetism%3BPermanent_Magnets">http://www.wondermagnets.com</a><a href="http://www.wondermagnets.com/cgi-bin/edatcat/WMSstore.pl?user_action=list&category=Magnets_and_Magnetism%3BPermanent_Magnets"></a> or a variety of other suppliers. -- Richard Brekne RPT, N.P.T.F. UiB, Bergen, Norway <A HREF="mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no">mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no</A> <A HREF="http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html">http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html</A> <A HREF="http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html">http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html</A>  </html>