Hi, I'm the person who ran on at the mouth about mag bearings. I'm on
vacation right now, and probably won't be back on a computer until next
monday. So...in the meantime, can you email me some more details on
what exactly you are thinking of? In general, if you can take advantage
of gyroscopic effects, balancing becomes not hard at all. Also, If you
want, you can float a rotating mass inside a mag field, and since it has
no physical restraints (vs mag forces), by filtering our the fundamental
frequency of rotation, it will balance about its center of inertia - which
may not be what you're after. A rotoating mass balanced about its center
of inertia will hardly vibrate at all, where a rotating mass balanced
about its geometric center (like those confined by mechanical bearings)
will be centered, but will vibrate more. So which is more important to
you: a centered hub or a vibration free hub? I don't think you can get
both and not violate physics as we know it now.
I'm cross-posting this to the TML, by the way.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Catie Helm
[email removed] or [email removed]