An operational harmonic electrostatic motor

An operational harmonic electrostatic motor is described. A cylindrical rotor is placed inside a hollow cylindrical hole of slightly larger diameter. Electrodes on the circumference of the hole electrostatically attract the rotor and cause it to roll inside the stator. The harmonic motion of the rotor produces a gear reduction between the electrical drive frequency and the shaft rotation rate. This motor design has the advantage of increasing the torque of the motor. This motor has several other advantages. First, it uses the clamping force, normally larger than the tangential force used by most electrostatic motor designs, to generate the motion. Second, the sliding friction between the rotor and stator, a source of hindrance for most micro electrostatic motors, helps be keeping the rotor and stator from slipping. Third, this motor uses rolling surfaces that dissipate less energy in fiction than sliding surfaces.<
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