[Qiaozhi]

Originally Posted by Fred

I thought this was actually charging the battery
Here another one, explained:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNBHsgJMTGw

I think that's why it was called a motor, and not a generator.

Interestingly, most simple DC motors need to have the current reversed to enable rotation, or at least have the current interrupted at some point. This one is different because it's a homopolar motor. There's a good explanation here -> http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/SimpleMHD