Free Energy..! The ultimate world equalizer...

[kaputnik 0]

This is with reference to an article here (http://pesn.com/2006/08/25/9500299_Steorn_jury_application_deadline/) and there's some here (http://www.realgeeks.com/); that I turned my attention towards - the possibility of having free energy.

We all know that energy conversion from one form to another - like burning wood to create fire and therefore warmth/ source of heat to cook food over - involves some sort of chemical/ mechanical reaction where the energy stored in one medium(wood, gas, oil) is converted to another (heat, electricity etc...); involves a great deal of loss in energy during the process. (Information on energy conversion is available her).

Now however there's this company called Steorn which claims that it's created an electro-megnetic-mechanical gadget/ machine that is actually giving an output of greater than 100% - which essentially means that the technological component of the machine - actually draws lesser energy than it outputs.

Now, to the common sence, this comes out as absolute hogwash. Physics as we know it to be tells us that something like this is just not possible, since there is loss in any conversion of energy (assuming that the energy is being converted). The big question here thoug seems to be that there is little or no conversion of energy in the electro-megnetic process being used by this company - instead, it seems like they are drawing energy from some "unlimited" source (which is where quantum mechanics comes in.

According the technology page on the company's website (which by itself is rather vague and doesn't actually give very many details); the system is actually functional and is producing results in test conditions. Which is why it seems that they actually published press ads challenging the world's physicists to form a 12 member evaluation team and judge their invention/ process. Really exciting stuff and I've signed up to receive more information on the results of the experimentation - once it's completed.

Should this technology actually be proven to work - it would mean the immediate (somewhat worrysome question of - exactly where does the "extra" energy actually come from. When we look at stuff like quantum physics/ the multi-verse etc - it could be that the energy being drawn is somehow disrupting our world/ paralel universe/ space-time etc - some source which is not even known of as yet - to exploit this energy. Once though this question of where the extra energy is coming from is answered (even to a reasonable extent), then the world as we know it would undergo a massive change.

The most threatened would be the oil and gas industry, who must be looking at these developments with a keen eye. Non renuable fuels would hit a wall as soon as unlimited sources of energy (as long as it is reasonably cheap) becomes available. As per the projections envisaged by the firm/ other journalistic sources - the fructification of this technology could result in stuff like an unlimited powersource for your cellphone (as small as that) your laptop (wow) and consider this - if somehow the technology even operates outside of the earth's influence - interstellar space travel - holy wow.

Right - so what do you guys think about this. I have this gut feeling that it's on the even and that we may be looking at a whole new world really soon. And no smoke/ smog and carbon caused global warming.

[webintern 0]

Such an invention, if proven true, could certainly contradict the current laws of physics. Then again, in practically any field of science, these laws are never necessarily absolute. Exceptions to Newton's laws were subsequently demonstrated with quantum mechanics.But, I am first a skeptic who requires good evidence or strong circumstantial support to persuade me. As a mere opinion, I call this a bluff. With my experience during the Internet boom and bust, I am well aware of exaggerated claims without substance. There are scam artists everywhere and those willing to risk their integrity or reputation for 15 minutes of fame.Let us, for the fun of it, hypothetically say this technology exists. Yes, it will revolutionize the paradigm of physics as we see it. I do not know about the practical extent of the implications on our daily lives. We already have a clean and rich source of energy through nuclear power. Granted, we can only extract a practical maximum of 70% of the energy it produces, but if you think of efficiency as (output - input / input), then nuclear energy theoretically produces >100% efficiency. The energy does not come from thin air; it simply applies the famous E=mc^2. In any case, it still has not resolved the energy problems we have and our dependence on foreign oil. The same question goes for this supposed breakthrough technology: how much of an effect would it truly have on the common folk?

[Markymark2 0]

This makes me think of the guy who made a car that could run on water..he invented it in the 70s and why dont we use it? because he sold the patent to the Saudi Prince...Remember they have soo much money and soo much power.I think it would be hard for a company especially a small company to come to market with something if and when its proved to work because the OPEC oil barons would buy it disrupt its sales etc..I remeber seeing about 8 years ago another thing like this..molecular steam engines that you could fit 20 on a grain of rice..again it was claimed that the power output was greater than the input...never heard about that coming to market...Ive heard about great magnets being able to give out more power than put in also...again years pass and nothing changes...The only thing I see being close to making things better is smaller more powerfull batteries using a new compound of chemicals-these batteries are about the size of a SD card and can power a laptop for 12 hours..Make these bigger make the drain on the battery less...then we got battery powered cars that dont have to be charged up soo much..I would love to think that these inventions will change the planet but hey I am too much of a cynic to think it will-I guess first we have to stop shooting each other over the oil!! and stupid religions.

[Pharoah 0]

I ran across a site called Fuellesspower.com awhile ago, all a scam. I think this is the same case with this engine, although it would be really great if it were true. At this site you can actually buy plans, but i'm told that they either don't perform nearly up to expectations, require some source of energy input not mentioned, or just don't work. Funny how people get all optimistic though.

[cyborgxxi 0]

That would be crazy cool if they could actually make it work. I live in Bangkok, Thailand and the air here is really bad. I hate going outside because it is really nasty air. But I read the link and you're right, the information is sketchy. They don't really say WHAT it is. They just say what they CLAIM it can do which is

The technology has a coefficient of performance greater than 100%. The operation of the technology (i.e. the creation of energy) is not derived from the degradation of its component parts.
There is no identifiable environmental source of the energy (as might be witnessed by a cooling of ambient air temperature).

I dunno, awesome if they do it but it sure looks fake.

[yordan 10]

OK, there is a general physics postulate saying "nothing is lost, nothing is created, everyithing is transformed". Of course, this postulate is not demonstrated yet, but is often used as a way of demonstrating something else. Usually, when you have a physics problem as a student, you can say "this is false because, else, it could provide free energy".So, a way of giving energy from nothing is known as impossible. Even Einstein said E=mc2. In other words, if something provides energy, some mass must be lost from something else.So, probably, the experiment stated at the beginning of this topic is not completely false. Simply, if correctly analyzed, it will probably show that some energy is taken from somewhere else, maybe from an unexpected place, for instance maybe a drop of water or a single piece of dust disappear from somewhere, or a solar cell received a light ray.