main drawing Seeding energy for initial rotation may come from manual stimulation. This is achieved by use of a rattling mechanism (23,24) or, conversely, by any externally applied electromagnetic alternating field from a separate power supply. Such is the sensitivity of a taut music string that, in air, human vocal drone power will also serve this purpose. Providing a suitable resonance is adjusted for and set, the rotor will be induced to spin and in the absence of any further stimulation, said rotation and vibration will decay over a period of several seconds.

In an attempt to provide a self-contained manual stimulation device for start-up, I designed this "rattling mechanism". I chose 6 clicks mostly for the poetry.

By moving your mouse over the graphic below you can twang the string and see a (little appreciated) effect:-

anybody out there?

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