PerpetualMotion
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Steorn peddles Orbo development kit, snake oil optional
With Steorn's track record, you'd think that the company wouldn't be in such a hurry to put its "free energy" technology under a microscope. Then again, maybe once it has your €399 (roughly $550) your thoughts on the subject really aren't that important anyways. Regardless, we're a wee bit skeptical of anyone who claims to have made a miraculous scientific breakthrough, refuses to explain said scientific breakthrough, and then asks you to cut them a check. But maybe you're a more trustworthy type: In that case, to build an Orbo device for yourself and access to the Steorn Knowledge Development Base, hit the source link. But don't say we didn't warn you.
Steorn livestream to settle the case for overunity once and for all... or something like that
Once again, Steorn promises to finally prove that free, clean, and constant energy can be produced by its Orbo technology -- principle of the conservation of energy be damned! -- on a webcast this upcoming Saturday. Of course, they might have similarly proven their point during a previous web event... or maybe they haven't. At this point, we've heard so many outlandish claims that we're having a hard time keeping 'em straight, but we've never been one to turn down a gratis comedy show after a hard day's night. Tune in if you find yourself in the mood for a chuckle. Or don't. Chances are you won't miss much anything.
Steorn returns, promises to open Orbo specs, give you a pony
The last time we heard from Steorn, the company had just joined a long line of optimistic but doomed people and companies unable to actually demo free-energy tech when put the test -- and although the Orbo didn't actually do anything, CEO Sean McCarthy promised us that we'd eventually get a working demo with physical access to the device. Well, it's over a year later, and Steorn's back -- with no demo in sight. Shocking! Instead, the company's selling SteornLab testing equipment to other organizations working on magic fairy-power rotary and magnetic systems, and it's also got plans to sell something called "ZeroF passive magnetic bearings" later this year -- we'd assume ZeroF means "zero friction," which is nicely impossible and totally in line with basically everything Steorn stands for. To convince you that this isn't all an elaborate sham, Steorn's also setting up the "SKDB," a knowledge base containing all the secrets of the Orbo, which will initially be open to 300 engineers and then sometime later to the general public. This, of course, sounds like an elaborate sham. Here's a hint, guys -- instead of the cheesy video of people sitting around talking about the Orbo, maybe shoot a video of it actually producing more power than it uses. Or, you know, admit the truth. Whatever works for you.[Thanks, Yury]
China takes the leap: Emdrive aka Infinite Improbability Drive now in development
While the rest of the world was in some kind of mass coma over the past year, China decided to have a hand at building the highly controversial Emdrive (electromagnetic drive) -- an engine that uses microwaves to transform electrical energy into thrust, all in a comparably light-weight, efficient package. The end result could mean 41 day journeys to Mars, not to mention terrestrial vehicle propulsion and satellite applications. Perpetual motion malarkey you say? British scientist and originator of the concept, Roger Shawyer of Satellite Propulsion Research Ltd. (SPR), assures you it's nothing of the kind, and Chinese Professor Yang Juan concurs. Research headed by Juan at Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in Xi'an commenced in June 2007, and a thruster now being built based on Shawyer's theories is scheduled for completion by the end of this year. Meanwhile in the US: cue the sound of crickets.[Via Wired]
Archer Quinn documenting his free energy project, descent into madness
Archer Quinn promised the world a working demonstration of his homemade free energy device called the "Sword of God" by June 20th, but it looks like we're getting a sneak peek a little early: Quinn's detailing the build on his blog, and it's just about as pigs-in-trousers insane as you'd expect. It's hard to even pick one quote as an example here -- Quinn rails on about how he destroyed his first machine because he didn't want Arab nations to starve without oil money but then a picture of Dubai's opulence changed his mind, how "gravity wheels" are perpetual motion machines, how Nikola Tesla presented BS theories, how Australian Nazis are reading his email, and on and on. Most importantly, however, he continues to update on how his project is going. We're not sure if he's done yet or what (it's not exactly easy to follow) but it looks like something's ready -- anyone want to bet if it works? We also have a very nice bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.[Thanks, Curt]
Yet another perpetual motion machine fails to prove anything
We want to believe, we really do, but these failed attempts and poorly-lit basement videos aren't exactly confidence inducing. Nevertheless, Thane Heins' Perepiteia generator has reportedly made its way down to a number of universities and labs across America, and while some onlookers did admit that "it works," none have been able to support any underlying theories. No need to keep dashing your dreams -- click on through for one more mind-numbing video of something akin to (but sadly, not) "perpetual motion."[Thanks, Mihir]
Perpetual motion machine... isn't
Finally -- the laws of physics have been smashed to itty-bitty, succulent bits, like a thin piece of glass obliterated by a cartoon anvil -- all in some dude's low-lit basement. According to the video which you can watch after the break, a mysterious entity known as Alsetalokin has laser-gunned the forces of the universe to death with a perpetual motion device which he's demonstrated on an obscure internet website called YouTube. Like Fox Mulder, we want to believe, but just like the fate of Steorn's Orbo, this is looking like another quickly-debunked fiasco. After a few hours of this clip doing the rounds, the hive-mind of the information superhighway began to pick it apart, piece by piece. The noise swelled so loudly that the original poster has actually changed his angle on the story, but that won't stop you from seeing the eye-shattering, star-bending magic of this magnet-driven motor.[Via Digg]
Steorn's Orbo device exploded -- for dissection, not the apocalypse
With tail held firmly between legs, Steorn really had no choice but to take a less covert and cryptic approach to their public relations. Behold what shyster-Sean McCarthy calls a working device utilizing their Orbo "free infinite energy" technology (read: magnets). The exploded view below the photograph was cobbled together by Steorn forum members and is a best guess as to how the device "works" at this point in time. The stationary part -- the stator -- is colored green and blue and contains 8 magnets fitted into angled-slots around the central cavity. Within the cavity spins a rotor with an additional 4 magnets evenly distributed around the circumference. Between the two are those dastardly, watch-maker bearings which were to blame for the failed demonstration last week. So yeah, it certainly appears to be just another in a long series of magnetically driven perpetual motion machines debunked by the scientific community for centuries. Still, Steorn employees continue to assert the existence of their magical energy source; they just can't explain how it works or prove that it exists. You know at this point, their rabid self-deception and cult of believers investors are becoming just a tad creepy don't you think?[Via BoingBoing]
Steorn: inventors of infinite energy, destroyers of laws of thermodynamics?
We're sure most of you are well aware of the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, and the second law, which states that putting energy into a system will always result in a loss in potential output -- these are the reasons why everybody buys gas, why we pay for electricity, and in many ways why the world economy is shaped the way it is. Which is why whenever someone comes along and says they've developed a technology that undermines hundreds of years of scientific study with the ability to create boundless amounts of free energy with no emissions, well, you have to imagine we'd cry snake oil -- but it would seem Steorn, claimers of such an absurdity, has already launched a PR campaign to circumvent naysayers such as ourselves. In fact, the Irish tech company issued an ad in The Economist announcing a challenge to 12 of the worlds' finest scientists -- to be chosen by them (hey, is Hwang Woo-suk available?) -- to step forward and disprove their infinite clean energy technology. And once their technology isn't disproved -- and they obviously believe that it won't be disproved -- they'll begin licensing it to the world's energy companies (and charitably freely licensing it for rural water purification and electricity generation). If it's the real deal then after all the congratulations are all over and we've reevaluated the fundamental underpinnings of physics as we know it, perhaps all humanity's energy ailments are finally going to come to a close. But the chances it could be a large PR hoax toying with our desperate need to revamp our global energy situation? Well, let's just hope Steorn proves us all wrong and changes science forever.[Thanks, Greg & Stephen, via Ireland.com]
