Use of moving element to produce heat

Apparatus for heating a liquid, comprising:

• (a) a flux generating base comprising:
• (i) an electric motor having a drive shaft;
• (ii) a rotor, operatively coupled to the drive shaft of the electric motor to be rotated thereby and having attached thereto a plurality of permanent magnets, each permanent magnet having a north pole face and a south pole face oriented generally parallel to a rotational plane of the rotor;
• and
• (iii) a housing in which the electric motor and the rotor are disposed, a surface of the housing defining a supporting interface;
• and
• (b) a container in which the liquid is held, including:
• (i) a container base that rests on the supporting interface of the housing;
• (ii) a ferromagnetic conductor disposed in the container base, and
• (iii) an upper portion sealingly connected to the container base, said upper portion being adapted to hold the liquid in thermal contact with the container base, said motor rotating said rotor to produce a varying magnetic field that causes eddy currents to circulate within the ferromagnetic conductor when the container is resting on the supporting interface, said eddy currents producing heat that is transferred into the liquid through the container base at that time.

A method for heating a substance by inductively coupling a varying magnetic field to a ferromagnetic conductor disposed in a container that contains the substance, comprising the steps of:

• (a) positioning a ferromagnetic conductor sealed within the container proximate to a supporting interface of a base;
• (b) providing a magnetic field;
• and
• (c) moving an element in the base with a prime mover so that the element is moved relative to the ferromagnetic conductor, a varying magnetic field that is produced thereby being inductively coupled to the ferromagnetic conductor, causing an electrical eddy current to circulate in the ferromagnetic conductor, thereby producing eddy current losses that generate heat in the ferromagnetic conductor, a portion of said heat being transferred to the substance to heat it.