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@frankenbike
You could easily build a tiny railgun to achieve the same thing if you disconnect the two rails from each other and apply a potential difference across them. You'd need a metal ball. A 9V battery might be enough, not sure though
No timing needed, no wasted power when the ball isn't rolling.
I think it would work anyway. Not sure about voltage/amp requirements but you only need a little bit to balance the friction/air resistance losses.